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PANAMA 

ATEXT BOOK ON THE 

CANAL, 

ZONE*»"> 

REPUBLIC 




FROM PANAMA^ 1*0 
SAN FRANOSCO 

PRICE ONE DOLLAR 





A guide: 

TO THE PACIFIC COAST 

FROM PANAMAr-TO 

SAN FRANCISCO 

IN PICTURE AND WORD 



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Oia-rle/s Wall^er Burr^iss 



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COPYRIGHT, 1912, 

— BY — 

CHARLES WALKER BURRISS. 

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER, 1912. 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SECURED. 

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 

CHARLES WALKER BURRISS, 

KANSAS CIT1^ U. S. A. 



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1V 



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WHEN I am in Rome, I fast 
as the Romans do. 
When I am at Milan, I 
do not fast. 
So liketvise you, lohatever 
church you come to, observe the 
custom of the place, if you tuoiild 
neither give offense to others 
nor take offense from them. 

— St. Ambrose's Advice. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PANAMA. 

IN THREE PARTS, WITH GENERAL, INTRODUCTION. 

(A) General Information pages 11 to 25 

Part I — The Canal pages 25 to 57 

Part II — Zone and Republic pages 57 to 97 

Part III — The Pacific Coast pages 97 to 143 



MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS— 

Page 

Title Page — ^Frontispiece 1 

"The Invasion" g 

Map of North, Central and South America, Showing Steamship Courses... 12 

Sanitary Drinking Cup 19 

Mountain Elevations and Map of Zone 24 

A Street in Gatun 28 

Bridge of the Panama Railroad Over the Chagres River at Gamboa 32 

Gatun Spillway , 32 

Suspension Bridge Across Culebra Cut, at Empire 40 

Drills at Work in Culebra Cut 40 

Home Life of the Construction Force 46 

Ruins of Spanish Barracks at Porto Bello 58 

Plaza in Colon 58 

Tropical Views 68 

4th of July Celebration at Cristobal 76 

Triangulation Tower on Balboa Hill 78 

Street in Native Village 84 

Ruins at Old Panama City 84 

Alligator Hunting on the Chepo River 88 

View of Panama Bay 93 

Map of Republic of Panama 96 

Map of Pacific Coast Countries 114 

Amapala, Honduras ; La Libertad, Salvador 118 

Corinto, Nicaragua; Punta Arenas, Costa Rica. 118 

Mazatlan. Mexico 128 

Wreck of the "Sosostres" 128 

Manzanillo, Mexico 128 

Fort San Diego, Acapulco, Mexico 128 

Map of Mexico 130 

Oaxoca (Mountain Range) 136 

Colima and Safa Volcanoes 139 

Ocos (Mountain Range) 140 

Lunar Rainbow at Sea 142 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— (Cont'd) 



Pore-word ^ 

* * * * 

Custom Laws of the U. S 16 

Color of Sea Water 22 

"Don'ts" for Travelers ^'^ 

Hotels on the Isthmus 15 

Nautical Day 22 

Quick Spanish Lexicon 19 

Sea Sickness 16 

Sanitary Drinking- Cup 19 

Steamship Routes to Panama 14 

Steamship Rates 14 

Tip to Souvenir Collectors. A 22 

Tipping-, the Great American System of 15 

PART I. 

Acquisition of the Canal Zone by U. S 5'^ 

American Purchase Valuation of Canal 27 

Balboa City 43 

Black Swamp, The 33 

Buoys 43 

Bubonic Plague 52 

Canal's Lighting- System, The 43 

Canal Tolls 44 

Chagres River, The 33 

Colon Breakwater 33 

Culebra Cut 37 

Facts, Panama Canal 25 

French Canal, The 53 

French Scrap 44 

Gatun Dam 34 

Gatun Lake 34 

Gatun Locks 35 

Gatun Spillway 36 

Heated Areas in Culebra Cut 41 

Hook-worm and Health 52 

Lesseps, Ferdinand de 54 

Medals, Service 31 

Miraflores Dam, Lake, Locks and Spillway 4 2 

Mosquitoes 50 

Naos Breakwater 4 2 

Org-anization of Canal Force 20 

Panama Canal 26 

Panama Railroad 45 

Pedro Miguel Lock 42 

Proposed Canal Routes 47 

Science of Health 49 

Slides in Culebra Cut 38 

Smallpox 52 

Steamship Dimensions 44 

Suez Canal 56 

Typhoid and the Fly 52 

United States Army-of-Construction 30 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— (Cont'd) 



PART II. 

Agriculture (Republic of Panama) 86 

Ancon Hill 82 

Ancon Hospital Botanical Gardens 76 

Animal and Plant Life on the Isthmus 70 

Ants, f 71 

Approaching Colon from the Sea 62 

Balboa, Vasco Nunez de 59 

Balboa Hill 76 

Beach at Panama, On the 93 

Buccaneers of the Caribbean 59 

Camacha Dam and Reservoir 79 

Canal Effect on the Fish 72 

Caribbean Coast Characters 59 

Caution to Excursionists, A 75 

Chilibrillo River Caverns 83 

Chiriqui Hats 89 

Cloud Formations 62 

Colon 63 

Cristobal 65 

Cruces Trail 82 

Earthquakes on the Isthmus 72 

Fort Lorenzo 66 

Hunting (Republic of Panama) 87 

Inhabitants (Republic of Panama) 87 

Kidd, William 61 

Las Cascades Cocoa and Rubber Plantation 79 

Miles Saved by Panama Canal 95 

Military Defense of the Zone 73 

Morgan, Henry 60 

Mountain Elevations of the Zone 66 

Monroe Doctrine, The 7'4 

Mouth of the Chagres River, The 80 

Old Chagres, The Town of 66 

Old Panama City 90 

Panama City, The Modern 91 

Panama Hats 89 

Porto Bello 65 

Rainfall on the Isthmus 69 

Republic of Panama, The 85 

Royal Road to Panama, The 82 

Short Excursions from Canal Zone Points 74 

Speed Law of the Canal Zone 73 

Table of Distances from Colon 95 

Table of Distances from Panama City 95 

Taboga Island 83 

Temperature on the Isthmus 70 

Trail of the Gold Hunters, The 80 

Uncivilized Tribes 95 

Vegetation (Republic of Panama) 86 

Vines on the Isthmus 70 

Vernon, Edward 61 

Water Reservations on the Isthmus 70 

Winds on the Isthmus 69 

Wireless Stations of the Canal Zone 73 

Weather Bureau, Unofficial 73 

Zone Lands 67 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— (Cont'd) 



PART III. 

Acapulco (Mexico) 137 

Acajutla (Salvador) 123 

Aft- Word 143 

Amapala (Honduras) 121 

As The Ships Pass In The Night 98 

Astronomy, A Short Treatise On 106 

Bay of Panama Ill 

Boxing the Compass 104 

Brito (Nicaragua) 119 

Buccaneers of the Pacific, The 109 

Cape Ooriientes 137 

Cayuca 116 

Central America, Geographical Configuration of 110 

Champerico (Guatemala) 126 

Character in Sailing Vessels 100 

Chubascos 116 

Coast of Panama Ill 

Cocos Island and Its Lost Piratical Treasure 109 

Colima and Safa Volcanoes 138 

Corinto (Nicaragua) 119 

Costa Rica 113 

David City (Panama) Ill 

Fire Drill Aboard Ship 105 

Guatemala 125 

Gulf of California 141 

Gulf of Fonseca 120 

Gulf of Panama Ill 

Gulf of Tehuantepec, Crossing The 135 

Honduras 120 

Las Tres Marias Islands 138 

La Libertad (Salvador) 11^3 

La Union (Salvador) 123 

Lead Line, The 103 

Lighters 115 

Lower California 140 

Lunar Rainbow at Sea 124 

Magdalena Bay 142 

Manzanillo (Mexico) 139 

Marine Items of Interest 104 

Mazatlan (Mexico) 139 

Mexico 131 

Nautical Language 104 

Nicaragua '. .im 

Ocean Routes, Panama to San Francisco 99 

Ocos (Guatemala) 129 

Officers, The Ship's ! . 101 

Papagayos 116 

Porpoise 125 

Punta Arenas (Costa Rica) 115 

Salina Cruz (Mexico) 135 

Salvador ' " . . 121 

San Benito, Mexico IZ3 

San Bias (Mexico) i 13S 

San Clement Island .142 

San Jose de Guatemala ........... .126 

Scope of Vision at Sea 106 

Sharks, and Other Inhabitants of Pacific Waters '...'.'.'...'.'.'.. .'.'.'.'.126 

Ship's Shore Signals 108 

Stars of Large Magnitude 108 

Swells of the Pacific Ocean ..I2i 

Terms on Shipboard lOO 

Time as Told by the Ship's Bells . 108 

Watches, The Ship's 102 

Wireless Equipment Aboard Ship 105 



Panama. 




"The Invasion"— Showing the Author and His Favorite Methods of Attack 
on Land and Sea. The Middle Picture Shows a Typical Central American 

Landscape. 



FORE-WORD 

As in ancient times "all roads led to Rome," so, in the present 
day, all roads lead to the Isthmus of Panama, where the success- 
ful result of the world's greatest engineering work is located. 

In issuing this Text Book, it is the purpose of the author to 
make it as complete in detail and general information as is pos- 
sible for a publication of such broad scope. All information and 
facts herein given will be found correct and reliable. Careful at- 
tention has been given to all details, and the reader may depend 
upon the accuracy of the facts as stated. 

In proof of the author's disposition to garner and to present, 
within the covers of this little volume, the essence of all available 
information properly pertaining to his subject, he presents the 
following prided credentials, in conclusion : 

"At Sea, February, 19 

"To the Passengers of S. S : 

"Your comimittee appointed to inquire into the sanity of 
our fellow-passenger, Charles Walker Burriss, en route from 
Panama to San Francisco, beg leave to make the following report 
and respectfully suggest that the subject be presented with a 
copy of the same and that he be further assured of our unquali- 
fied support, should necessity arise." 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 

"To the World at Large : 

"Be it generally known that we have had the extreme pleas- 
ure of meeting Col. Charles W. Burriss, U. S. A. 

"We have observed his maneuvers, seen his smiles, and heard 
his laugh; listened to his jokes, told h:-m others not half so good 
and heard him laugh again, and everybody else heard him, too. 
He enjoys a smile, admires a grin, loves a giggle, but adores a 
laugh, for when he smiles he laughs by wireless. 

"He is the closest observer we have ever seen, for he has not 
missed a point of interest or otherwise from the Canal Zone in 
Panama to the Golden Gate in California. No gulf, bay or inlet 
has escaped his binoculars. Every volcano, active, dead or sleep- 
ing, has been observed by him; all mountain chains and ranges, 
peaks and pinnacles have met his gaze. He has not missed a 
meal since he embarked nor has he been sick a minute en route. 
He retired the latest and arose the earliest of all the passengers 
aboard. 

"All through the voyage he has studied the history, language, 
customs, habits, politics and peculiarities of the people; the 
geography, topography, geology, fauna and flora of the country. 

"He has also studied navigation, astronomy, meteorology, 
seismology, weather readings, deep sea soundings, wave motions, 



1 Panama. 

air currents, steamer oscillations and vibrations, deck pedestrian- 
ism, wigwagging and night signaling to passing vessels and revo- 
lutionists ashore. 

"His appetite has always been fine, his countenance pleasing, 
his appearance becoming and his behavior good. He has helped 
the helpless, nursed the sea-sick, cheered the charming, and 
chummed the cherry-colored senoritas that visited the ship. He 
landed at all ports, regardless of suds or surf, to pay his respects 
to the U. S. Consuls, barter with Chinese merchants, interrogate 
the Commandantes and interview the Jefe Politicos on the con- 
dition of the country and the prospects of the people. 

"He is a remarkable tropical globe trotter, a strenuous 
Isthmian Canal advocate, a Progressive American and a patriotic 
Citizen, proud of his Country, his State, Village, Home, Family, 
and Friends. 

(Signed) " 



(Members of the Committee.) 

"Adopted unanimously in committee of the whole, Febru- 
ary, 19 

(Signed) "...- 



i 



(Chairman.) 




"At Sea, February, 19... 

"This is to certify that Mr. Chas. W. Burriss was a passenger 

on the S. S. ' ...' from Panama to San Francisco, 

and that he conducted himself in an agreeable, intelligent and 
gentlemanly manner by being obedient to the officials, courteous 
to the employes, kind to the passengers, a friend of the revolu- 
tionists and a sympathizer with the governments. He has been 
healthy during the voyage, temperate aboard, sober ashore, active 
en route and strenuous in port. He has eaten his share, never 
bothered the doctor, asked all kinds of questions, told numerous 
old jokes and very few new ones, and he has laughed heartily and 
almost painfully at everything funny, ridiculous, serious and 
sympathetic since he came on the ship. 

(Signed) , Captain." 

"He wanted to show me how to work sailors and paint ship. 
He said he was from Missouri. 

(Signed) , 1st Officer." 

"I had the pleasure of showing him how to shoot sharks. 

(Signed) , Chief Engineer." 

"He has not taken or passed any bad money that I know of. 

(Signed) , Purser." 

"He only needs his nerve extracted, his cheek amputated, 
and his gall cut out to make him a desirable citizen. 

(Signed) , Surgeon." 

"He told me he had been an express messenger, but he knows 
nothing about freight. 

(Signed) , Freight Clerk." 

"He claims he is from Missouri, but I think I saw him paint- 
ing a town in Kansas during Carrie Nation's absence. 

(Signed) , Storekeeper." 

"He was my star boarder. He had no favorite dishes ; he 
ate everything. 

(Signed) , Chief Steward." 



12 



Panama. 




General Information. 13 



STEAMSHIP ROUTES TO PANAMA. 

There are choice of several Steamship lines offered the 
traveler to the Canal Zone and beyond. The four principal 
lines are: 

1st. Panama Railroad Steamship Company. 

2d. The United Fruit Company. 

3rd. Hamburg-American Steamship Line. 

4th. Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. 

Panama Railroad Steamship Company. 

The Panama Railroad Steamship Company is the United 
States Government line with general offices at New York City. 
The boats of this line make no intermediate stops in their six 
days' passage between New York and Colon on the Canal Zone. 
They pass Watlings Island — the first land discovered by Colum- 
bus — the east end of Cuba, skirting that island for several hours, 
in sight of the two western points of Haj'ti, and then sail direct- 
ly across the deep blue waters of the Caribbean Sea for six hun- 
dred miles to the Port of Colon. They are United States Gov- 
ernment vessels, not looking especially for passengers, yet giv- 
ing them good service in transportation and ship facilities. 
Special rates may possibly be made by this line in connection 
with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, from Panama City to 
San Francisco. 

The United Fruit Company. 

Ships of the United Fruit Company sail from all the At- 
lantic and Mexican Gulf ports and also from certain European 
ports. They make a feature of the comfort of passengers and 
can be depended upon for good service, saving of time and de- 
livery to specified locality. 

The German Lines. 

The German vessels sail from New York City to the most 
interesting points in the Caribbean, including the Canal Zone. 
One makes the complete Caribbean cruise, returning to the port 
of departure in the original vessel. The surroundings are of the 
best. The management caters especially to the comfort and 
pleasure of the passengers. 

Lastly, ships making direct sailings from home ports to and 
through the Canal and on up the Pacific Coast to San Francisco. 

Information concerning any of these lines can be gotten 
at your home railroad ticket office. 

The sailing time from Mexican Gulf ports to Colon is four 
days, while ships leaving New York for Colon require twenty- 
four to thirty-six hours longer. 



1 4 Panama. 



STEAMSHIP ROUTES— (Cont'd). 

The ocean voyage is made with fewer discomforts and with 
less danger from storms and other unpleasant features of the 
sea in the winter season than in the summer. The winter sea- 
son in the temperate zone corresponds with the dry season of 
the Canal Zone, and will be found much more comfortable for 
travel than the summer, or wet season. 

The author suggests travel arrangements that will allow 
from six to twelve days on the Isthmus before proceeding on 
the journey. The sights and scenes are so numerous, so strange, 
and of such magnitude that the tourist should allow himself time 
to grow to them, if he would fully appreciate them. 

Provided the time allotted is sufficient, and if your itiner- 
ary is from coast to coast, and dignity rather than dispatch your 
disposition, it is desirable to allow five or six days for the run 
to Colon, six to twelve days on the Isthmus, and probably four 
weeks for the coast portion of the trip. Select the moonlight 
nights for the interesting portion of your movements, thereby 
doubling your eyesight. 

In engaging passage for the local boat along the Central 
American coast, if possible engage your stateroom on the star- 
board or land side of the vessel. There will be nothing to see 
from the water side but expanse of water. 

Steamer chairs may be rented for one dollar per voyage, and 
are almost a necessity to comfort. Don't forget the most im- 
portant rule for successful travel — good nature. A pleasant 
face and pleasant speech will pave the way to the good will of 
fellow-passengers, ship's crew or the inhabitants ashore, and the 
combination will bring you in return much additional comfort 
and pleasure. 

STEAMSHIP RATES. 

The Caribbean cruise steamer fare from the Atlantic or 
Mexican gulf ports to the principal ports of interest on the Carib- 
bean, including Panama and return, ranges from $85.00 to 
$125.00. This includes all expenses of cabin and table service. 

The rate from New York to San Francisco via the Panama 
Railroad Steamship Company and Pacific Mail Steamship Com- 
pany, including the railroad transportation across the Isthmus, 
ialso meals on shipboard — all first class — will range around 
$120.00. 

Counting one week on the Atlantic, and four weeks on the 
coast voyage on the Pacific, or a total of five weeks' transporta- 
tion and board, this expense can not be considered excessive. 



General Information. 



HOTELS ON THE ISTHMUS. 

The hotels, both along the line of the Canal and in Colon 
and Panama City, will be found to satisfy. The traveler has 
the choice of two very different manners of entertainment. At 
all important localities along the Canal and in each Panaman 
city, will be found a hotel conducted by the Canal Commission. 
The rate will be found to be usually reasonable — fifty cents per 
meal as a rule. At Colon is located the New Washington Hotel 
and at Ancon, on the Pacific side, is the Tivoli Hotel. These 
two hotels are Commission hostelries and are all that can be 
desired. In fact, the combination of elegant rooms and cuisine, 
with the romantic and picturesque surroundings, combine to 
make a few days' location at either of these last named hotels a 
most pleasant reminiscence. Because of the uncertainty of 
traveling and to be sure of entertainment upon arrival, it will 
be good policy to cable to the management of the hotel at which 
you wish entertainment, making your reservations, as they fre- 
quently entertain capacity houses. 

The native hotels of Colon can hardly be so well spoken of, 
but at Panama City can be found good accommodations. The 
Central Hotel at Panama City is typical of tropical satisfaction, 
the Sunday evening dinner being the special society event of the 
week; reserved tables, ten to twelve courses on a French bill-of- 
fare, served by Spanish waiters (no English spoken) , an orches- 
tra in the palm room and the national band playing in the plaza, 
adding eclat to the rarity of the evening's enjoyment. The hotel, 
old cathedral, old canal headquarters and bishop's residence sur- 
round the plaza. The movement of the international members 
of the audience, as they parade to and fro in the plaza enjoying 
the occasion, all form a picture not to be forgotten. 

In cabling for reservations at the New Washington Hotel 
at Colon or at the Tivoli Hotel at Ancon, it would be well to 
specify reservation of rooms fronting on the water, as they are 
more pleasant and afford a magnificent view of the ocean. 

THE GREAT AMERICAN SYSTEM OF TIPPING. 

While the author does not believe in the Great American 
System of tipping, yet a little money judiciously placed will 
add materially to the traveler's comfort at sea as well as 
on land. Of the two extremes, as designated by over paying 
or refusing to pay for services rendered, it would seem best 
to chance erring a little in favor of the former. Good-natured, 
quick service in the line of little things which add to comfort 
should be appreciated and no well-meaning person would feel 
his books were closed if they failed to balance. 



1 6 Panama. 

SEA SICKNESS. 

Sea sickness is nausea resulting from the pitching or roll- 
ing of a vessel. 

There seems to be no known specific for this sickness. 
Many recipes might be given, none of which are worth more 
than the mention. Sucking a lemon, chewing gum, putting cot- 
ton in the ears, light eating, no eating, or "eat as you please," 
will be among the advices given you by experienced travelers. 

Cotton in the ears has scientific friends, who say there is 
a close connection between the fluids of the inside ear and the 
movements of the ship and that the double effect causes the 
sickness. A piece of ordinary brown wrapping paper placed 
over or next to the abdomen has been declared to be absolutely 
effective in preventing the trouble. Apparently sensible people 
have been known, who would not travel on a railroad train with- 
out being protected by a piece of brown paper so placed. 

After all is said, the following advice would seem to be 
apropos, — Keep as much as possible in the open air, stay on 
deck and away from the close atmosphere where the sickness 
exis*:s. It is contagious, in-so-far as sight and smell are con- 
cerne \ Don't worry, get your mind occupied by some interest- 
ing subject or your surroundings and forget the fear. Eat light- 
ly for a day before going aboard ship, and continue this during 
the voyage. Stay on deck if possible, even if you feel the sick- 
ness, — as tho clean, pure air is much more pleasant and bene- 
ficial than that of a close cabin with possibly unpleasant sur- 
roundings. 

There can be no harm in using the cotton and the paper, 
also the lemon and gum if desired, but the open air and an active 
and interested mind are the best assets. 

The movements of the vessel will have less effect on you 
if you view the waves in their approach from the bow of the 
ship rather than if you watch them from the stern, as they de- 
part. The effect on the eyes seems to be less pronounced. Don't 
watch the waves in a mirror for you will get a double effect of 
their .action in that manner. 

CUSTOM LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Each resident of the United States, coming from abroad, is 
allowed to brinor in, in addition to what he took away with him, 
one hundred dollars' worth of goods. 

This includes clothing, toilet articles, combs, brushes, 
articles of personal adornment, such as jewels, such personal 
effects as cameras, fishing tackle, golf st'cks, guns, photographs, 
parasols, smoking articles, steamer rusfs. shawls, toys, trunks, 
valises, etc. But these articles must be for the personal use of 
the individual bringing them in. 



General Information. 1 7 



"DON'TS" FOR TRAVELERS. 

Don't fail, in forming your plans of travel, to arrange for the 
full moon at the most interesting portion of your trip. It 
will add 100 per cent to the pleasure of your journey. 
If the local Pacific coast trip is taken, it is advisable that 
you choose the starboard, or land, side of the ship for 
your cabin and the moon one-quarter to full for your 
leaving Panama, thereby getting three v^eeks of night 
views of the coast as well as your day views. The moun- 
tains lose none of the romance of their beauty when seen 
under the light of the full moon. 

Don't drink strange water. 

Don't go into the jungle alone; secure the services of a trust- 
worthy guide. 

Don't fail to carry an identification card upon your baggage, as 
well as upon yourself. 

Don't fail to make a correct declaration to the customs officer, 
wherever met. 

Don't forget to eat sparingly on shipboard; it is a great pre- 
ventive of sea sickness. 

Don't forget to have a small stock of the most necessarj^ medi- 
cine, also a small bottle of liquor for medicind purposes 
in your hand-baggage. Be careful of your diet. Do not 
expose yourself unnecessarily to the direct rays of the 
sun. Remember the country is right if you approach it 
right; keep your mind clear, your good nature to the 
front, and the troubles of the country will probably pass 
you by. 

Don't fail to remember a long voyage with no likelihood of 
getting your linen laundered will call for quite a supply 
of collars; one of the ship's stewards will probably look 
after your rough laundry. 

Don't go into the sun without protection of an umbrella. Re- 
member the days are hot, the nights cool; dress accord- 
ingly. A duck suit for the men will be found a great 
satisfaction. 

Don't forget that the post office facilities of the Central Amer- 
ican Republics are unreliable. Do not feel badly if many 
post cards sent in their care never reach their destination. 
Send a few extras to make sure that some you value really 
do arrive. 

Don't fail to remember that rubbing the gum side of your 
postage stamps over your hair will, in a measure, prevent 
them from sticking together — a bane to the traveler in 
a tropical country. 



1 8 Panama. 



"DON'TS" FOR TRAVELERS— (Cont'd). 

Don't have more native money or stamps in your possession 
than you can use locally. To carry foreign money away 
with you is some loss. 

Don't use the services of a native before making a specific con- 
tract with him, thereby avoiding the possibility of an 
international complication. 

Don't fail to have kodak pictures developed on the Isthmus, if 
possible. Promptness in this respect may save them. 
They are soon ruined by the prevailing humidity. If 
compelled to carry a roll of films, wrap them in the cloth- 
ing in your grip. Do not leave them in the metal can 
they come in, as they will collect moisture. 

Don't forget that an expense of ten or twenty cents in each 
country rightly applied will allow you to assemble a very 
neat collection of native postage stamps. 

Don't forget your fountain pen and a small bottle of extra ink. 

Don't forget to take a good compass and a field glass. 

Don't forget fish hooks and lines, if indulgence in the piscatorial 
art will assist you in pleasantly passing time during an 
enforced idleness in port. 

Don't forget to deposit your valuables with the ship's purser, 
as soon as possible after going aboard ship, and draw 
your table number. 

Don't fail to get a steamer chair from your deck steward. The 
cost is a trifle compared with the comfort. 

Don't neglect to obtain a copy of this Text Book on Panama 
and the Pacific Coast. It will assist you in your plans, 
keep you from making unnecessary or dangerous ones and 
do away with the necessity of your asking questions of 
strangers. It will enable you to cover much added terri- 
tory in a limited period and will conserve your time and 
add to your comfort in many ways. 

Fresh Paint. 

Don't forget that there is always painting being done on board 
ship. While the officers and crew will try to safeguard 
the passenger's clothing, a little watchfulness on the 
part of the latter will assist in avoiding damages. 

Sanitary Drinking Cups. 

Don't fail to carry your own drinking cup. It is necessary on 
the Canal Zone and should be made so in all other places. 
If you should neglect to provide one, here is a design for 
a sanitary drinking cup that you can make out of any 
clean piece of paper in a few seconds : 



General Information. 



19 



SANITARY DRINKING CUP. 




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Till-. I'Al'lK — KK. 1. 



The C\ip— Fic. * 



QUICK SPANISH LEXICON. 

There is little probability that the traveler along the routes 
encompassed within the covers of this book will need an extended 
knowledge of the Spanish language. Unless he desires to make 
excursions away from the beaten paths of travel, he will at all 
times be surrounded by those who speak his own language. 

Yet at times a small vocabulary of Spanish may be of ad- 
vantage, and to this end the following is appended. The object 
of the writer is to accomplish as much in as little space as pos- 
sible, and it is suggested that the traveler, in his transactions, 
point to the English word of the object spoken of, allowing the 
opposite Spanish meaning to be followed by the respondent. 



ENGLISH. 

good morning 

good afternoon 

good evening 

come here 

thank you 

how much money? 

what is it? 

who is it? 

do you speak English? 

do you speak Spanish? 

what is your name? 

where are you going? 

where do you live? 

what time is it? 



SPANISH. 

buenos dias 
buenos tardes 
buenos noches 
ven aca 
gracias 

cuantos dinero 
que es eso 
quien es 
habla V. Ingles 
habla V. Espanol 
como se llama 
adonde va V. 
donde vive V. 
que hora es 



20 



anama. 



QUICK SPANISH LEXICON- 


-(Cont'd). 


ENGLISH. 


SPANISH. 


ENGLISH. SPANISH. 


God 


Dios 


lord 


don 


physician 


medico 


lady 


dona 


well 


bien 


sir 


senor 


sick 


mal 


madam 


senora 


good bye 


a' Dios 


all 


todo 


adieu 


adios 


also 


tambien 


hungry 


hambre 


in 


en 


thirsty 


sed 


on 


sobre 


what for 


porque 


into 


en 


I do not know 


no se 


the 


el 


cheap 


barato 


of 


de 


dear 


caro 


this 


este 


far 


lejos 


my 


mi 


near 


cerca 


old 


viejo 


more 


mas 


pretty 


bonita 


less 


menos 


because 


porque 


big 


grande 


behind 


dotras 


small 


menudo 


before 


enfrente 


good 


bueno 


below 


debajo 


bad 


malo 


beneath 


abajo 


high 


alto 


deep 


profundo 


low 


abajo 


up 


arriba 


here 


aqui 


and 


y 


there 


alii 


within 


dentro 


what 


que 


without 


fuera 


tired 


sansado 


where 


donde 


with me 


conmigo 


for 


por 


wealthy 


rico 


very 


muy 


poor 


pobre 


enter 


entre 


hurry 


pronto 


star 


estrella 


middle 


medio 


sun 


sol 


white 


bianco 


moon 


luna 


black 


negro 


sky 


cielo 


red 


rojo 


earth 


tierra 


blue 


azul 


sea 


mar 


brown 


castano 


ocean 


oceano 


green 


verde 


island 


isla 


one 


uno 


river 


rio 


two 


dos 


cloud 


nube 


three 


tres 


rain 


lluvia 


four 


cuartro 


snow 


nieve 


five 


cinco 


warm 


coloroso 


six 


seis 


cold 


frio 


-"ven 


siete 


north 


norte 


eight 


ocho 


south 


sur 



General Information. 



21 



QUICK SPANISH LEXICON- 


-(Cont'd). 


ENGLISH. 


SPANISH. 


ENGLISH. SPANISH. 


nine 


nueve 


east 


oriente 


ten 


diez 


west 


occidente 


fifteen 


quince 


grass 


yerba 


twenty 


veinte 


money 


dinero 


twenty-five 


veinte y' cincc 


• cent 


centavo 


fifty 


cincuenta 


dollar 


paso 


one hundred 


ciento 


gold 


oro 


minute 


minoto 


silver 


plata 


hour 


hora 


iron 


hierro 


day 


dia 


city 


cuidad 


night 


noche 


house 


cas 


week 


semana 


street 


calle 


month 


n^es 


hotel 


posada 


year 


ano 


room 


camara 


today 


hoy dia 


door 


purete 


morning 


dias 


chair 


silla 


afternoon 


tarde 


table 


mesa 


evening 


noches 


plate 


plato 


yesterday 


ayer 


glass 


vaso 


tomorrow 


manana 


cup 


taza 


railroad 


ferrocarril 


knife 


cuchillo 


road 


camino 


fork 


tenedor 


mile 


miela 


spoon 


cuchara 


cab 


coche 


breakfast 


almuerzo 


wagon 


carro 


dinner 


comida 


horse 


caballo 


supper 


cena 


cow 


vaca 


lunch 


merienda 


dog 


perro 


fruit 


fruta 


cat 


gato 


fire 


fuego 


pepper 


pimienta 


clock 


rejol 


kitchen 


cocina 


match 


mecha 


egg 


huevo 


key 


Have 


soap 


labon 


bed 


cama 


grape 


uva 


soup 


sopa 


wine 


vino 


bread 


pan 


fish 


pez 


meat 


carne 


chicken 


polluelo 


butter 


mantequillo 


cheese 


queso 


apple 


manzana 


milk 


lache 


coffee 


cafe 


cherry 


cereza " 


tea 


te 


man 


hombre 


water 


agua 


woman 


mujer 


salt 


sal 


boy 


muchacho 


envelope 


sobre para carta 


girl 


muchacha 


stamp 


sello 


father 


padre 


letter 


carta 



22 



Panama. 





QUICK SPANISH LEXICON- 


-(Cont'd). 


ENGLISH. SPANISH. 


ENGLISH. SPANISH. 


mother 


madre 


book 


libro 


brother 


hermano 


pen knife 


cortapluma 


sister 


hermana 


flag 


bandera 


office 


officio 


hand 


mano 


bird 


pajaro 


foot 


pes 


kiss 


beso 


hat 


sombrero 


home 


bohio 


coat 


cassaca 


miss 


senorita 


shirt 


camisa 


he 


el 


shoe 


zapato 


she 


la 


gloves 


guantes 


you 


tu 


umbrella 


paraguas 


me 


mi 


bath 


bano 


friend 


amigo 


flower 


flor 


servant 


criado 


pencil 


lapiz 


porter 


portero 


song 


canto 


yes 


si 


cloth 


pano 


no 


no 


beard 


barda 


head 


cabeza 


mustache 


bigote 


mouth 


boca 


sleep 


dormido 


eye 


ojo 


pen 


pluma 


ear 


oreja 


ink 


tinta 


comb 


peine 


paper 

n 


papel 



A TIP TO SOUVENIR COLLECTORS. 

Almost all stores are controlled by Chinese, but whether 
controlled by Chinese or natives, a good bargainer will find that 
two prices exist — the "entrance" and the "exit" price. The 
shrewd buyer can usually obtain what he desires at what he will 
consider a reasonable price. 

NAUTICAL DAY. 

The nautical day on shipboard begins at twelve o'clock 
noon. A blast is blown on the big whistle, and the mileage of 
the last twenty-four hours is posted in the main cabin, together 
with the noon latitude and longitude of the ship. 

COLOR OF SEA WATER. 

Sea water takes its color from the local component parts of 
the water. Microscopic sea weeds give the color to the Red Sea, 
the floods of the great rivers color the Yellow Sea of China. 

The waters of the ocean are blue, the various shades being 
in ratio to the proportion of their saltiness. 



The Canal. 23 



PART I. 



THE CANAL. 



(a) The Canal and Its Construction. 

(b) The Panama Railroad. 

(c) Sanitation. 

(d) Historical Summary. 



24 



Panama — Part I. 



"tJ3AliJ S3^19VHO 




The Canal. 25 

(A) 
The Canal and Its Construction. 



PANAMA CANAL. 

Total cost of Canal * $375,000,000 

Fortifications and other expenses, including annual 

payment to Panama 25,000,000 

Total $400,000,000 

Total excavation by the French. . . 78,000,000 cubic yards 

Of use to Canal 30,000,000 cubic yards, or 1/7 

Total excavation by Americans . . . 195,000,000 cubic yards, or 6/7 

Grand total excavation 225,000,000 cubic yards 

Dynamite used 55,000,000 lbs., or 27,500 tons 

Length of Canal. 

Atlantic sea level to Gatun Locks 8 miles 

Lake and Cut, surface of water 85 feet above sea level. . .32 miles 
Miraflores Lake, surface of water 55 feet above sea level. 2 miles 
Miraflores Lake to Pacific sea level 8 miles 

Total length 50 miles 

Width of Canal (at Bottom). 

Atlantic entrance 500 feet 

Gatun Lake 1,000 feet 

Chagres River 500 feet 

Culebra Cut 300 feet 

Miraflores Lake 500 feet 

Pacific entrance 500 feet 

Deep water to deep water, 50 miles. 

Shore line to shore line, 40 miles. 

Dredged shipway from shore line to deep water, both en- 
trances to Canal, 10 miles. 

Time in transit, 10 to 12 hours. 

Angles in Canal, 22. 

Total curvature, 600° 51'. 

Total curvature to right, 281° 10'. 

Total curvature to left, 319° 4P. 

Sharpest curve, Tabernilla, 67° 10'. 



26 Panama — Part I. 



Important Dates. 

United States acquired Canal Zone, February 26th, 1904. 

United States acquired property rights of French Canal and 
began work May 4th, 1904. The purchase price of forty million 
dollars was paid in one single check through the banking house 
of J. P. Morgan & Co. of New York City, on June 16th, 1904. 

Official date of completion, January 1st, 1915. 



THE PANAMA CANAL. 

The Panama Canal has been built over the same general 
route that was planned and in part executed by the French Com- 
pany. 

It leaves the Atlantic at Colon and approaches the Gatun 
Hills, a distance of eight miles, through swamp and low ground. 

After the level of the Canal is raised eighty-five feet by the 
three steps of the Gatun Locks, the Canal enters and crosses what 
was formerly the Black Swamp, but which is now Gatun Lake, 
for a distance of twenty-three miles to where the Chagres River 
enters from the northeast. Here the Canal enters the famed 
Culebra Cut, going up the valley of the Obispo River to the sum- 
mit of the range, passing between Gold Hill on the left and Con- 
tractors' Hill on the right, and thence by way of the valley of 
the Rio Grande to Pedro Miguel Lock. After a drop of thirty 
feet in this lock, the Canal passes for two miles through Mira- 
flores Lake to Miraflores Locks. The two steps of these locks 
lower the Canal fifty-five feet, thus bringing it to the Pacific 
water level ; eight miles along the valley and through the swamps 
to Balboa brings the Canal to deep water on the Pacific Ocean. 

The trend of the Canal is, in the main, northwest and south- 
east, the Pacific entrance being about twenty-two miles east of 
the Atlantic entrance. 

The distance from salt water to salt water at this point on 
the Isthmus of Panama is about thirty-five miles, but the curves 
and windings of the Canal make its finished length approxi- 
mately fifty miles. 

Three great engineering problems confronted the builders in 
the construction of the Canal ; the first and most difficult was the 
control of the waters of the Chagres River and its tributaries ; 
the second in importance was the Black Swamp ; while the third 
was the cut through the Continental Divide. 

How successf ullly these problems were handled, the public at 
large can now judge. 

The width of the bottom of the Canal from the Atlantic to 
the Gatun Locks and from Pedro Miguel Lock to the Pacific is 
500 feet. The width through Gatun Lake is 1,000 feet, and the 
width through Culebra Cut is 300 feet. The depth of water thro 



The Canal. 27 

the complete Canal is 45 feet. The surface elevation of the water 
in Gatun Lake and Culebra Cut is 85 feet above mean sea level, 
and the floor of the Canal in this section is 45 feet less (the depth 
of the Canal), or 40 feet above mean sea level. The mean sea 
level of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is the same, although the 
daily tide of the Pacific Ocean ranges from 18 to 22 feet, while 
that of the Atlantic is only 2 feet and at times misses even that. 

The original elevation of the lowest point through the Conti- 
nental Divide on the Isthmus of Panama at Culebra Pass was 
312 feet above mean sea level, or 272 feet above the bottom of 
the Cut. The slope of the sides of the rock cut was intended, in 
the original plans of the engineers, to be 3 feet in 2 feet, but the 
various slides have caused great variations from this plan. 

Coaling stations, machine shops and supply stations are 
located at each end of the Canal. 

The first two years of United States' possession were mainly 
devoted to organization and sanitation, ways and means for exca- 
vation and construction, and the assembling of the plant. 

American Purchase Valuation. 

The government of the United States acquired the rights of 
the Panama Canal from the French Company in 1904 for $40,- 
000,000. This price was based on the following official valua- 
tion: 

French excavation useful to Canal $25,389,240 

Panama Railroad stock 9,644,320 

Plant and material 2,112,063 

Buildings used 2,054,203 

Surveys, maps, plans, records, etc 2,000,000 

Land 1,000,000 

Ship Channel, Panama Bay 500,000 

Clearings, roads, etc 100,000 

Total valuation $42,799,826 

The purchase price of the Canal was $40,000,000 

Subsequently, in 1904, the United States bought the 
Canal Zone from the new Republic of Panama 
for 10,000,000 



Making a total purchase price of $50,000,000 

(See page 55 for details of purchase.) 

COMPARISON WITH SUEZ CANAL. 

Readers who may be interested in the comparison of the 
work involved in the construction of the two great inter-oceanic 
canals (Panama and Suez) will find on page 56 a synopsis of the 
construction of the Suez Canal. 



Panama — Part I. 




Gatun, Showing the Distinctive Style of Architecture Introduced into the 
Tropics as a Result of American Occupancy. 



The Canal. 29 



ORGANIZATION OF PANAMA CANAL FORCE. 

The Isthmian Canal Commission was composed of seven 
members : five officers from the engineering corps and one officer 
from the medical corps of the United States Army, and one civil- 
ian in charge of the civil administration of the Zone. 

In the execution of this work the following departments were 
organized : 

Construction and Engineering. 

Subsistence. Sanitation. 

Quartermasters. Disbursements. 

Civil Administration. Examination of Accounts. 

Canal Zone Judiciary. Purchasing Department. 

Law. Panama Railroad Company. 

The Department of Construction and Engineering was in 
three divisions: 

Central Division, from Gatun Dam through Gatun Lake and 
Culebra Cut to Pedro Miguel Lock. 

Atlantic Division, from Atlantic to and including Gatun Dam 
and Locks. 

Pacific Division, from and including Pedro Miguel Lock to 
Pacific Ocean. 

The construction of the Panama Railroad and the municipal 
improvements of Colon and Panama City were in charge of the 
Department of Construction and Engineering. 

The Mechanical Division had charge of all mechanical ques- 
tions and supervised expenditures, preparation of estimates and 
allotments of work. 

The Subsistence Department had charge of the operation of 
hotels, kitchens and messes. 

The Quartermaster's Department recruited labor, furnished 
quarters, distributed fuel, commissary supplies and water, 
received and handled all supplies, cut grass, handled garbage, and 
audited all property returns. 

The Department of Civil Administration had charge of ports, 
customs and revenues, police, prisons, fire protection, public 
works, courts, and Canal Zone funds. 

The Department of Sanitation had charge of the health of 
the Canal force. It cleared the land in the path of the actual 
construction work — cutting down brush, draining swamps and 
burning the stubble and refuse by pouring oil on the land and 
then firing it. It conducts hospitals at Ancon, Colon and Cule- 
bra, as well as a leper asylum at Palo Seco, and a sanitarium 
on Taboga Island. 



30 Panama — Part I. 



ORGANIZATION OF FORCE— (Cont'd). 
Working Force of Construction. 

Following is the distribution of the working force during 
1912: 

Total force employed 37,438 

Railroad construction and operation 4,237 

Canal construction 33,201 

Official Report of 1912. 

The percentage of distribution of the working force among 
the various departments follows: 
Department of service (construction and 

engineering) 26,699 or 80 per cent 

Department of subsistence 706 or 2 per cent 

Quartermaster's department 3,677 or 11 per cent 

Department of sanitation .1,371 or 4 per cent 

Lesser departments 3 per cent 

33,201 or 100 per cent 
Percentage of Distribution. 

This is an interesting and a remarkable table and it is worth 
close consideration. It demonstrates the result of system and 
close organization, an elimination of unnecessary friction in the 
Canal machine and probably greater working results with less 
loss of force than has ever been attained by any other great 
operating body. 

Here was a great army, set down in a strange land, a long 
distance from its own shores, surrounded by obstacles of unusual 
magnitude and working under conditions never before experi- 
enced by this force — yet of these thousands of men, every eighty 
out of each hundred were executing; that is to say, doing their 
part of the digging, and obtaining results. Thirteen men out of 
each hundred provided for their necessities, comforts and pleas- 
ures, and four of each hundred took care — and the best of care — 
of the health of the hundred. Here are results of organization 
of which the country may well be proud. 

THE UNITED STATES ARMY-OF-CONSTRUCTION. 

The idea the average business man entertains of the United 
States Army — if he stops his business long enough to entertain 
an idea on that subject — is a mental picture of "the man behind 
the gun" ; it never occurs to him that to make that man efficient 
there are, of necessity, other departments. That, in order to 



The Canal. 3J[ 

THE U. S. ARMY-OF-CONSTRUCTION— (Cont'd). 

fight, he must be healthy, as comfortable as possible, and as 
happy and satisfied as he can be made; that he must be fed. 
The same is true of an army that is engaged in a warfare against 
nature. "It," as is said of the other army, "advances on its 
stomach." 

In this "engagement" on the Isthmus of Panama, the man 
behind the gun is eliminated. That less-known department of 
the army — the engineering department — is in charge, with the 
assistance of the other departments of sanitation, subsistence, 
and the quartermaster's department — departments, by the way, 
whose importance is not usually realized. 

The health of the body politic is of the first importance. 
In the old days, men advanced as they were able, dropping by 
the way as sickness or camp troubles overcame them. Under 
modern conditions, it has become a disgrace not to be in good 
physical fitness — a disgrace not only to the man who is sick, but 
to the department that allowed him to become so. Consequently, 
in a location where sickness and death were the rule, the oppo- 
site has become a fact, and the Canal Zone has become more 
healthy than the temperate zone. The men are kept healthy, 
well fed, and satisfied, and are then expected to work. And they 
do work. 

The engineers of the army planned and executed on a larger 
scale, not only in the one great undertaking of building the Canal, 
but in each individual department, than was ever known before. 
Greater engineering problems were solved, larger quantities of 
work were done at less expense of time, men and money than 
ever before in the world's history; and not one single failure in 
the many heavy problems can be charged in the final result 

Service Medals. 

Service medals are awarded by the United States Govern- 
ment to its citizens who complete two years of service on the 
Canal or railroad, and a bar is added for each additional two 
years of service. 

Society of the Chagres. 

The Society of the Chagres is composed of white employes 
of the Canal or railroad of good character who have earned the 
Roosevelt Canal Medal and two bars, previous to the official 
opening of the Canal. 

The Inca Society. 

The Inca Society is composed of those whose term of service 
with the Canal Commission began during 1904. 



32 



Panama — Part I. 




(a) Bridge of the Panama Railroad over the Chagres River at Gamboa. 

(b) Gatun Spillway. The Water Used to Generate Power for Operating 

Locks Will Pass Through the Openings Shown in Picture. 



The Canal. 33 

COLON BREAKWATER. 

Extends from Toro Point: 10 feet above sea level. 

11,700 feet long. Cost $5,000,000. 

15 feet wide at top. 3,000,000 cubic yards. 

THE CHAGRES RIVER. 

The Chagres River enters the Canal Zone from the north 
side at about right angles to the trend of the Canal and nearly 
thirty miles from the Atlantic entrance to the Canal. 

It formerly wound its devious way through the Black Swamp 
at its own sweet will, crossing the line of the Canal twenty-three 
times in twenty-two miles. It is variable in all its character- 
istics, changing in a day from a sleepy river, not fifty feet wide, 
to a torrent that could sweep away any obstruction set in its 
course. It drains a territory of 1,300 square miles, and its swift 
current and great volume of water, during the rainy season, 
made it the greatest of the big problems to be overcome in the 
completion of the Canal. 

The engineers early decided that the best method of dispos- 
ing of the waters of this river and its various tributaries was 
to build a dam across the Atlantic side of the Black Swamp. 
The waters thus impounded became Gatun Lake. 

The surface of the lake so formed continues unobstructed 
from the dam at Gatun over the erstwhile swamp, along the 
Chagres River, to and through the cut through the Continental 
Divide to the locks on the Pacific slope. 

Thus have the forces of the Chagres River been harnessed 
by the ingenuity of man and made to serve the interests of the 
commercial world. 

With this solution of the water supply achieved, the dispo- 
sition of the_ Chagres River ceased to perplex the engineers. The 
only point in question was whether the unruly river, thusly 
utilized, would, with its tributaries, furnish enough water to 
form the lake, fill the cut, and work the locks, making due allow- 
ance for evaporation, seepage and other natural losses of water. 
Records of the flow of the river satisfied the engineers in charge 
that this will be the case. 

THE BLACK SWAMP. 

The Black Swamp is no more, with its bottomless depths, 
its tenacious substance, dismal fastnesses, and impenetrable veg- 
etation. It is now covered by the waters of Gatun Lake, and 
where the great struggle went on between man and nature in 
establishing the old line of the Panama Railroad and the present 
line of the Canal, one may now sail with no thought of the hard- 
ships of the pioneers. 



34 Panama — Part I. 



THE BLACK SWAMP— (Cont'd). 

A little study of the lay of the land here makes it evident 
that the entire area covered by the Black Swamp was in distant 
ages a depression, possibly a lake, that gradually filled with sedi- 
ment and decayed vegetation, until, by the time this section of 
the country was explored, it was little more than a muck swamp. 

What, with its thick covering of jungle, humid atmosphere, 
its intense heat, its lack of bottom, combined with tropical dis- 
eases and the absence of acclimated labor, it seems little less 
than miraculous that a railroad was ever successfully located 
through this swamp. It would appear to be rather a bridge 
floating on the mud and slime than an ordinary roadbed. 

Workmen, when repairing the track, have found three 
lengths of railroad iron, ninety feet, swinging in the dark mud 
and yet not touching bottom. 

But this section of the Panama Railroad has gone to its 
rest in a watery grave, and now the passenger floats above it 
in a modern ocean-going steamer, or passes around it to the 
east on the re-located line of the railroad. The Black Swamp 
with all its grewsome history has become a memory. 

GATUN LAKE. 

Gatun Lake extends along the line of the Canal from Gatun 
Dam for a distance of some fifteen miles and for possibly the 
same distance at right angles to the Canal. Its shores are irreg- 
ular, and it contains various islands and has an area of about 
160 square miles. It covers what was formerly the Black Swamp. 

It is formed by the waters from the Chagres River and its 
various tributaries, which Gatun Dam holds in check. Through 
what was once called the Black Swamp, whose surface is now 
covered by this lake, a channel 1,000 feet wide has been dredged 
for the Canal and the course of ships is laid by lights and buoys. 

Ample warning was given settlers in the lake district before 
the lake was allowed to form, and residents were notified to 
move. The Canal buildings in this area were put on sale and 
the standing timber sold. The stand of timber was not heavy 
as the land had been occupied for three hundred and fifty years 
and had been cut over and burned over many times during this 
period. The valuable woods in this territory included cocobolo, 
guayacan, Panama mahogany and Spanish cedar. Some of these 
woods are too heavy to float on water. 

THE GATUN DAM. 

Facts. 

One-half mile wide at bottom. 

Four hundred feet wide at water-line. 



The Canal. 35 

One hundred feet wide at top. 

Summit one hundred and fifteen feet above mean sea level. 

Thirty feet higher than surface of lake. 

One and one-half miles long. 

Twenty million cubic yards of material used in construction. 

Slope of sides, one foot in eight to twelve feet. 



Gatun Dam holds in check the waters of Gatun Lake. This 
dam is 115 feet high on its center line, 2,200 feet wide at its 
base line, 100 feet wide at its top and one and a half mUes long. 

The magnitude of the dam may be more generally appre- 
ciated if you will realize that the rise in the slope of the side of 
the dam is from one foot in eight feet to one foot in eleven feet. 

It crosses the valley from where the Chagres River broke 
its way from the Black Swamp in its course to the ocean, and 
the dam is braced against the opposite hills as well as against 
a small hill it crosses near the center of this valley. 

The dam was formed by first dumping the rocks from 
Culebra Cut in long side-lines, and then by pumping water from 
the swamps and rivers into the basin so formed, and letting the 
sediment settle and form the core of the dam. The sediment 
so deposited is impervious to water, consequently the dam is 
absolutely water-tight. 



GATUN LOCKS. 

Facts. 

Twin series, three locks ; total, six locks. 

Each lock 1,000 feet long. 

Each lock 85 feet high. 

Each lock 110 feet wide. 

Each entrance 500 feet long. 

Total length of locks 4,000 feet. 

Two million cubic yards of concrete used. 

Locks rest on rock foundation ; part of approaches are on piling. 

Cost — Excavation $ 6,000,000 

Concrete 14,000,000 

Gates 5,000,000 

Total $25,000,000 

Gatun Locks are in twin series of three locks, making a total 
of six locks, and form three steps of a stairs ascending, or de- 
scending. Each lock is 1,000 feet long, and the total length of 
the three, with the two entrances, is 4,000 feet. They are 85 
feet hisrh and 110 feet wide. 



36 ' ** Panama — Part I. 



GATUN LOCKS— (Cont'd). 

A ship in passing from the lower Canal to Gatun Lake will 
enter the lower lock on the water level of the Canal. The lower 
gates will be closed and water introduced into the chamber occu- 
pied by the ship from the openings in the floor of the lock until 
the water level of the lock is the same as the second or middle 
lock. Then the ship is advanced to the second or middle lock, 
and the gates to the lower lock are closed. Water is introduced 
into this lock chamber until the water level is the same as the 
upper or third lock, when the ship is moved into the third lock. 

After closing the lower doors of the third lock, the water 
is introduced from the bottom of the lock until the water in 
this lock is on a level with the lake, when the upper and last 
gates are opened and the ship is at liberty to proceed on her 
way across the lake and through the cut to the Pacific Locks. 

The journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic is accomplished 
by reversing these proceedings. 

Every safeguard has been provided for the ship in the way 
of fenders and chains. All local power is electrical and under 
the control of a power center that simplifies the work of raising 
or lowering the ship from one level to the next. 

Four motors stationed on tracks on the walls of the locks, 
two fore and two aft, regulate the movement of the ship while 
passing through the locks. On the lake, the ship proceeds by 
its own power. 

Intermediate gates are in each lock, if the necessity should 
arise to use less water, or if for any reason it would seem best 
to shorten the locks. 

GATUN SPILLWAY. 

Near the center of the dam is located the Spillway, a con- 
crete flume with gates that may be lowered or raised as the head 
of water in the lake makes necessary. 

Two hundred and twenty-five thousand cubic yards of con- 
crete were used in its construction. It is one-fourth mile long and 
three hundred feet wide and has fourteen openings and fourteen 
gates. Weight of gates is forty-three tons each. Electricity is 
here generated for the operation of Gatun Locks. 

Floating Islands of Gatun Lake. 

With the forming of Gatun Lake, floating islands appeared 
upon its surface. These islands are masses of decayed vegeta- 
tion and fallen trees held together by the roots of a dense over- 
growth of swamp plants. They seem to have been formed in 
the Black Swamp and to have been loosened by the gradual rise 
of the lake waters. They vary in size, some being 200 or 300 
feet long, and having sufficient solidity to support a man. 



The Canal. 37 

CULEBRA CUT. 
Facts. 

Culebra ("Snake"). 

Cut through solid rock through the backbone of Con- 
tinental Divide from Chagres River up Obispo River to and 
through pass between Contractor's Hill and Gold Hill, and down 
Rio Grande to Pedro Miguel Lock. 

Increase in amount of excavation, 50 per cent above orig- 
inal estimate. 

Original estimate of time required for completing the Cut, 
ten years; actual time required, seven years. 

Original estimate cost per cubic yard in Cut, 98 cents ; actual 
cost ranged around 58 cents. 

Nine miles long. 

Three hundred feet wide at bottom; originally planned to 
be 200 feet, but later increased to 300 feet by President Roose- 
velt's official order. 

Original slope on sides, three feet to two feet, later increased 
by slides. [See page 38.] 

Depth of excavation ranges from 85 feet at Chagres River 
to 375 feet at Contractor's Hill and 500 feet at Gold Hill. 

Height of Pass, 272 feet above bottom of Canal. 

Bottom of Cut, 40 feet above sea level. 

Depth of water, 45 feet. 

Surface of water, 85 feet above mean sea level of oceans. 

On each side of Cut large diversion channels were cut to 
provide for surface water. 

Rock excavated was used at Gatun Dam and for Pacific 
entrance Breakwater and to fill in low ground. 

Geology proves this rock to be sedimentary. 

This great cut through the hills, between the Atlantic and 
Pacific, extends from the Chagres River in a generally south- 
easterly direction for a distance of nine miles. It follows the 
original valley of the Obispo River to the summit of the range 
at Contractor and Gold Hills, thence down the valley of the Rio 
Grande to Pedro Miguel Lock. 

The bottom of the Cut is 300 feet wide and the sides vary 
in height from about 75 feet at the Chagres to 375 feet at Gold 
Hill and 500 feet at Contractor's Hill, with the variable side 
slope made necessary by the troublesome slides. 

The bottom of the Cut is 40 feet above mean tide-level of 
the ocean, and the top of the water in the Cut is on the same 
level as that of the lake — 45 feet higher — or a total height of 
85 feet above sea level. 

Because of the length and depth of the Cut, combined with 
its small relative width, and the continued slides of the banks, 



38 Panama — Part I. 



CULEBRA CUT— (Cont'd). 

this section of the Canal has overshadowed all of the other work. 
While the engineering difficulties of providing for the waters of 
the Chagres River and disposing of the Black Swamp were 
greater, the mechanical work in Culebra Cut has been the most 
difficult. The River, the Dam, the Lake, and all other work of 
the Canal could have been completed before the final date, except 
that there was no occasion to finish them before Culebra Cut 
could be finished. 

The rock from the Cut has been used for the shell of the 
big Dam at Gatun, for the Naos Breakwater at the Pacific 
entrance to the Canal, and for filling swamps and low ground. 

History contains the record of no other work of this char- 
acter that approximates its magnitude in any respect. And yet 
so well has the construction force carried out its work that 
while the original estimate of the quantity of earth to be re- 
moved has been increased more than one-third, the cost has been 
held within the original estimate and the final work has been 
finished in less than the original estimate of time — making new 
records in all departments of its construction that will probably 
stand unapproached for years to come. Acres of dirt from the 
slides have come into the Canal, the bottom of the Canal has 
been forced upward, unknown difficulties of great magnitude 
have appeared along the line of construction ; but this wonder- 
ful work steadily progressed regardless of each new impediment, 
with at no time an acknowledgment of discouragement on the 
part of the working force. 

Work was planned so that the center of the Cut was always 
kept higher in the excavation than the two ends, thereby caus- 
ing the natural drainage of water to take care of itself by flow- 
ing out of the Cut at Pedro Miguel by its own gravity, and to 
the temporary dam at Gamboa. This dam was placed across 
the mouth of the Cut to keep the waters of the Chagres River 
from flowing into it before it was completed. Water accumu- 
lating in the Cut at the dam from the natural drainage to that 
end of the Cut was pumped through a pipeline, over the dam 
and into the Chagres River. The highest place of the Cut being 
held at one point in the Cut during its digging also allowed all 
loaded trams to run down grade, whether bound toward the 
Pacific or toward Gatun Dam, the empty cars only having to 
be hauled up the grade. 



SLIDES IN CULEBRA CUT. 

The slides in Culebra Cut were unusual and so many and 
of such immense proportions that they brought a new and im- 
portant feature into the digging of the Canal. They increased 



The Canal. 39 

SLIDES IN CULEBRA CUT— (Cont'd). 

the estimated cubic yardage of the Cut. They varied from small 
slides to slides almost fifty acres in extent. 

Rock that was ordinary in its formation became soft under 
exposure and crumbled and slid or rose up from the bottom 
of the Canal, and even after years of study and work the con- 
struction force admits the cause to be unknown. The efiect has 
been so far-reaching that even the end is not positively assured, 
at this writing. 

It has been thought by some that the mountain chain arched 
at this point over some great subterranean swamp, or something 
of like character, and that, when the backbone of the chain was 
cut and the keystone removed, as it were, the two severed ends, 
being unsupported by each other, slowly subsided by their own 
weight, thus forcing up the center of the Canal. This has been 
aptly illustrated by using the simile of a pan of dough. The 
two hands forced down into the dough would cause it to rise in 
the middle. 

Be that as it may, when all theories failed, it is a remarkable 
fact that the construction force never wavered. With renewed 
eagerness it attacked each new problem, always with the same 
vim, vitriol, and vitality — making assurance doubly sure. The 
fine result at the present day stands as a monument to that great 
precept of the army — "Never question, but act." 

Methods of Prevention. 

Believing the rocky walls of Culebra Cut could be protected 
from the action of the atmosphere and made more permanent 
if coated with concrete, a pneumatic concrete gun was used for 
spraying liquid concrete. This gun did not prove to be a success 
along the Cut, but was a success when used on hand-laid stone 
walls located along the line of the re-located railroad. The gun 
forced the concrete several feet into the stone wall and made the 
binding of the rock much more complete. 

A more successful plan for preventing slides in the Cut was 
sought and found in removing the surface from possible trouble- 
some locations and then planting grass, the subsequent vegeta- 
tion thus forming a shield against rains. 

Geology. 

Marl Shales. (Marl; Carbonate of lime, clay and silicious 
sand.) Clearly stratified, showing it was originally deposited in 
water. 

The shallow deposits in the water indicate a swampy con- 
dition which was probably at one time an arm of the sea, as 
fossils of marine animals were found. The time is supposed 
to be the early Tertiary or Oligocene period (Report of Com- 
mission Geologist). 



Panama — Part I. 



Cffi 



^S? 





(a) Suspension Bridge Across Culebra Cut at Empire. 

(b) Drills at Work in Culebra Cut. 



The Canal. 41 



CULEBRA CUT SLIDES. 

The following table will show somewhat the trouble caused 
the working force of the Canal from slides into Culebra Cut. 
This is not a complete table, but is given in the annual report 
of the Isthmian Canal Commission for 1911. This record begins 
at the Chagres River, and contmues through to the Pacific end 
of the Cut: 

Area 
Location Acres 

East side, opposite Bas Obispo 1.6 

East side, opposite Haut Obispo 6 

West side, Buena Vista 6 

East side. Las Cascadas. . 8.3 

East side, Whitehouse 4.6 

East side, Whitehouse 2.9 

East side. Upper Lapita 1.7 

East side, Lower Lapita 3 

West side, Cunette 9 

West side, Culebra 46.6 

West side, North Contractor's Hill 2.6 

East side, Culebra 31.6 

East side, Cucaracha 47.1 

West side, Contractor's Hill 2.0 

East side, Paraiso 5.7 

Total 157.1 

HEATED AREAS IN CULEBRA CUT. 

An interesting scientific problem that developed in the quar- 
rying of the Cut and that caused much anxiety and some uncer- 
tainty to the engineering force was the abnormal heat generated 
in the rock bottom of the Cut as the work progressed. At one 
time this was so important that a report of the conditions was 
made to the engineer in charge by the Commission Geologist. 
A small area near the Station of Culebra developed quite a cloud 
of white steam, and the openings from the blasting developed 
enough heat to char wood. 

After a thorough examination the Geologist reported the 
material through which the Cut is made to be such that local 
heat is developed upon exposure of the rock to the air. 

"The oxidation of pyrites of iron developed initial heat, 
assisted by the hydro-carbons of the lignitic shale — accelerated 
to an extent by the action of the free sulphuric acid on the 
calcium carbonate for the formation of gypsum. As the tem- 
perature rises, all chemical activity is vastly stimulated. After 
the most readily oxidizable substances are consumed, the heat 
gradually dies down to a normal temperature." 



42 Panama — Part I. 

PEDRO MIGUEL LOCK. 

Pedro Miguel Lock is a pair of chambers of one elevation 
alone, having a single drop of thirty feet. The passage of a 
vessel through this lock is the same in action as through the 
individual locks at Gatun. 

Nine hundred thousand cubic yards of concrete were used 
in its construction. 

MIRAFLORES LAKE. 

The distance across Miraflores Lake to Miraflores Locks 
is two miles, and the width of the lake is about the same. This 
lake was formerly a marsh, and the water is held in place by 
a dam at Miraflores. 

All of the former conditions of the Black Swamp were dupli- 
cated here, although to a less extent, and were overcome in the 
same manner, i. e., by building a dam and forming a lake. 

MIRAFLORES DAM. 

Two thousand seven hundred feet long. 

Top of dam fifteen feet above water-line of lake. 

MIRAFLORES LOCKS. 

Twin series, two locks; total, four locks. 
Each lock 1,000 feet long, 110 feet wide. 
Combined lift fifty-four and two-thirds feet. 
One million five hundred thousand cubic yards of concrete 
used in construction. 

MIRAFLORES SPILLWAY. 

Five hundred feet long. 

Seventy-five thousand cubic yards of concrete used in con- 
struction. 

Eight openings. Eight gates. 

Weight of gates, forty-three tons each. 

NAOS BREAKWATER. 

The Naos Breakwater extends from the mainland at Balboa 
on the axis of the Canal to Naos Island, a distance of three miles. 
The ocean currents passing between this island and the mainland 
washed sand into the mouth of the Canal. The breakwater pro- 
tects the Canal from this trouble, and also forms a broad road 
to the fortified islands. 

It is seventeen thousand feet long and twenty to forty feet 
above mean sea level, while fifty to three thousand feet wide at 
the top. Eighteen million cubic yards of rock and earth brought 
from Culebra Cut were used in its construction. 



The Canal. 43 



BALBOA. 

Balboa is the name of the town located at the Pacific en- 
trance of the Canal, as Cristobal is, at the Atlantic entrance. 
Balboa is four miles from Panama City and can be reached by 
electric line or by either one of two good roads — one road pass- 
ing to the right of Ancon Hill and the other between Ancon Hill 
and the ocean. Great wharves are located here, with all the 
facilities for expediting the handling of the cargoes of large 
ocean-going vessels. 

THE CANAL'S LIGHTING SYSTEM, 

Range lights are used for long tangents and side lights are 
placed about one mile apart to locate each side of the Canal. 

Acetylene gas is used on lighted buoys and lake beacons. 
These lights are automatic in operation, being equipped with 
patent swinging valves and copper cylinder, the latter expanding 
when daylight falls on apparatus, thereby closing a valve and 
shutting off the flow of gas to the burner, leaving only a pilot 
light burning. When the light of day is gone, the cylinder con- 
tracts, permitting the valve to open and acetylene gas once more 
passes to burner. 

There are no range lights in the Cut. 

BUOYS. 

Buoys are "day marks" as in opposition to lights and bea- 
cons, which are designated "night marks." Buoys are under the 
control of the lighthouse board. Similar buoys always mean the 
same thing, regardless of location. The channel is marked by 
black and red buoys. The black ones have odd numbers and 
are left on the port, or left hand side, by the ship, while the red 
buoys are designated by even numbers and are left on the star- 
board, or right hand side, by the ship. A buoy with red and 
black horizontal stripes shows an obstruction in the channel. A 
buoy showing white and black perpendicular stripes and lying in 
mid-channel indicates it must be passed close to avoid danger. 
At turning points in the channel the buoys are surrounded by 
cages, triangles, etc. 

The whistling buoys or bell buoys are also fog signals. They 
are used to show outlying obstructions. The whistling buoy is 
operated by the air rushing through it. The air is admitted "and 
compressed by the rising and falling motion of the buoy on the 
waves. The more violent the sea, the louder becomes the whistle. 
It can be heard ten or fifteen miles. 

The bell buoy rests on a platform and supports a bell. In- 
stead of the bell having a tongue and clapper, a small cannon 
ball is supported on the platform underneath the bell. This ball 



44 Panama — Part I. ' 

rolls around on the platform with the motion of the sea, strik- 
ing the bell as it rolls. 

The buoy may be made of wood or iron. Iron buoys are 
hollow and have air-tight compartments. They are divided 
into three shapes, — the "nun" buoy, almost conical in shape; 
the "can" buoy, nearly cylindrical, and the "ice" buoy, which is 
long and narrow. 

FRENCH SCRAP. 

After the Canal authorities had repaired all the old French 
buildings and machinery that justified the expense, the remain- 
der of that property found to be useless was sold as scrap. 

On the books of the Canal Commission the totals of the 
scrap account are carried as follows: 

Used on Canal $1,000,000 

Sales 208,000 

Sold to highest bidder, final clean-up . . 215,000 

Total $1,423,000 

Eleven bids for the remaining scrap on hand were received 
upon advertisement of its sale. These bids ranged from $40,000 
to $215,000, the bid accepted. 

CANAL TOLLS. 

Canal tolls are based on the net registered tonnage of the 
ship. The ship may carry double — or more — than its registered 
tonnage and still pay no more than if it carried its registered 
tonnage. Example : 

Ship "A" is registered at 1,000 tons, but, in fact, carries 
2,000 tons. Its toll is on its regular tonnage (1,000 tons), the 
excess tonnage of 1,000 tons passing through the Canal free of 
tolls. The transportation company, as owner of the ship — and 
not the producer, nor yet the consumer, as might be inferred — 
benefits by this condition. 

STEAMSHIP DIMENSIONS. 

The dimensions of modern steamships have increased stead- 
ily in all measurements, and the end is not in sight. The follow- 
ing measurements will show the general tendency to increase 
their size: 

Name. Length. Width. Tonnage. 

Gigantic 1,000 . . 

Imperator 900 96 50,000 

Aquatania 900 95 50,000 

Olympic 882.6 92 45,324 

Mauretania 790 88 32,000 

Lusitania 790 88 32,000 



The Canal. 45 

(B) 

THE PANAMA RAILROAD. 

Facts. 

Re-located line, cost $9,000,000. 

Length, 47.11 miles. 

Has branch line to Gold Hill, about two miles long. 

Tunnel at Miraflores, 736 feet long. 

Four heavy embankments on line around Gatun Lake. 

Hardwood ties. 

Ninety-pound rails used in construction. 

Highest altitude 270 feet, opposite Las Cascades. 

Continental Divide, opposite Culebra, 240 feet elevation. 

Maximum grade, one and one-quarter per cent. 

Maximum curvature, radius of 819 feet. 

Time in transit. Colon to Panama, two hours and twenty- 
five minutes. 

One-half of the ties used on the old location of the railroad 
were in good enough state of preservation to be used on the 
re-location. 

Rails on old location used for telegraph poles on re-location. 
****** 

The Panama Railroad when completed in 1855 ran from 
Colon along the same general line that since has been followed 
by the Canal. What with the jungle, the swamps, the grades, 
and the unsanitary conditions, the building of the railroad was 
fraught with many disasters, physical and financial. 

Four and one-half years were consumed in its building, and 
all the labor troubles that belong to all large building operations 
in the tropics were contended with. Its roadbed through the 
Black Swamp was simply placed on the mud, rebuilt when lost, 
until finally it became more of a suspension line than a solid road- 
bed. Under the ownership of the United States Government, it 
was rebuilt and double-tracked. It always has been worked to. 
its full capacity, both in freight and passenger service, and has-- 
been the best paying railroad per mile in service that has ever 
been constructed — paying in certain years as high as twenty-five 
per cent on the investment. 

The forming of Gatun Lake has covered that part of the 
line lying over the big swamp, and its re-location skirts the lake 
on the east. 

While the numerous difficulties which were encountered by 
reason of the existence of the Black Swamp have been elim- 
inated, many localities on the line of the re-location have been 



46 



Panama — Part I. 




Home Life of the Construction Force in the Canal Zone. 



The Canal. 47 

THE PANAMA RAILROAD— (Cont'd). 

troublesome. Four large embankments have been constructed, 
ranging from 1,500 feet to 5,500 feet in length. These "fills" 
gradually sunk into the foundation as the work progressed, until 
the footing had to be widened, so as to establish a counter- 
weight. 

The original intent of the engineers was to carry the rail- 
road through Culebra Cut on a shelf left in the side of the Cut. 
The disintegration of the walls of the Cut caused this shelf to 
disappear into the Cut, and it was found necessary to establish 
the railroad on the other, or east, side of the Culebra hills, thus 
leaving the line of the Canal, where it extends through Culebra 
Cut, from one to three miles. A short line of the railroad runs 
from the main line down to Gold Hill. But, short line, or long 
line, the hills, marshes, jungles, vegetation and climate make the 
work of railroad building in the Canal Zone unusually difficult. 

The railroad ties are hardwood, so hard in fact that they 
have to be bored for the spikes. Lignum vita, polvillo, corteza 
and balsam woods received from Colombia were used. Ties could 
have been obtained on the Isthmus, but no company could furnish 
them in large enough quantities. Seventy-five thousand Baya- 
honda ties were obtained from Santa Domingo. 

The Continental Divide is crossed, when opposite Culebra, at 
an elevation of 240 feet above sea level. The passenger train 
service time between Colon and Panama is two hours and twenty- 
five minutes. 

All of the 70,000 shares of stock in the railroad are held by 
the United States Government, except those known as the Direc- 
tors' Qualification shares, which are held, one for each director, 
at the disposition of the Government. 

The railroad is operated under a charter granted by the 
United States of Colombia, which expires in 1966, and, as the 
railroad company owns nearly all of Colon, it is through this 
channel that the United States of America will become the owner 
of that city. 

The Panama Railroad crosses the Chagres River at Gamboa 
on a bridge 1,320 feet long — consisting of fourteen 80-foot spans 
and one 200-foot span. 

The oil pipe line from Panama City to Colon runs along the 
railroad right-of-way. 

PROPOSED CANAL ROUTES BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC 

AND PACIFIC. 

From the earliest days of navigation along these shores, 
means have been sought for connecting the two oceans. 

The uncertain and changing conditions of local governments 
have been almost as much of a difficulty in this work as were the 



48 Panama — Part I, 



PROPOSED CANAL ROUTES— (Cont'd). 

distances between the oceans and the mountainous character of 
the country to be traversed. 

The various routes had their champions, but it would seem 
to a lay mind that the United States Government was able to 
make use of the really best and least difficult pass of the moun- 
tains. 

Below will be found the names of the various routes, with 
their strongest claims for the Canal, beginning with the most 
southern : 

Darien : 

Two routes. 

Elevation, 1,100 and 1,250 feet. 

Costly viaduct. 

Tunnel, ten miles. 

Tuyra : 

Elevation, 750 feet. 

Out of Panama Bay opposite Pearl Islands. 

Tuyra River, forty miles. 

Cue River, eastward to source. 

Through height of land to Atita River in Colombia. 

Forty miles to Gulf of Darien. 

Canal, fifty-five miles long. 

Tunnel, two miles. 

Panama (the present canal route) : 

Thirty-five miles. 
Elevation, 300 feet. 

San Bias: 

Elevation, 1,140 feet. 
Tunnel, ten miles. 
Canal, sixteen miles. 
River, ten miles. 

Nicaragua : 

Elevation, 153 feet. 

Greytown on Atlantic, by way of San Juan River to Lake. 

Nicaragua to River Lajas, by cut through Continental Di- 
vide, twelve miles, into Rio Grande to Brito, ten miles 
north San Juan del Sur on Pacific. 

Length, 187 miles. 

Corinto: 

To Lake Managua. 

By river to Lake Nicaragua. 

By river to Atlantic. 

Not feasible. 



The Canal. 49 

(C) 
Sanitation. 

SCIENCE OF HEALTH. 

The science of health has been carried to an unusual degree 
of perfection when it becomes a disgrace to get sick ; a disgrace 
to the medical profession, to the surrounding conditions that 
cause that result, and last, if not least, to the victim. Yet such 
is the condition of affairs on the Canal Zone. 

In a territory of daily inspection, where the doctor is over- 
lord and where his ideas of sanitary conditions must be satis- 
fied before any work can be done, where the physical condition 
of each individual is a matter of record, and where the wan- 
derers who have no visible means of support are barred — the 
first symptoms of ill health become a matter of immediate im- 
portance. 

The Zone was placed under the jurisdiction of the medical 
fraternity before any work was attempted, and no work was 
done at any point until those authorities gave their consent. 
The result has been what one would naturally expect. The 
health of the Zone has progressed from being the hotbed of 
fevers until its record is better than those of the large cities of 
the temperate zone. 

The progress of sanitary science, combined with the enthus- 
iasm of the sanitary ofiicers, has almost changed nature itself, 
and the mechanical engineers have made no greater advance in 
changing the geography of the earth than have the doctors in 
altering the health conditions of the human family. 

The fight on mosquitoes has practically elim^'nated yellow 
fever, malarial fever and their kindred. Vaccination has fin- 
ished smallpox. The fight on rats and fleas wiped out the bubonic 
plague. It would seem to the lay mind that diseases on the Canal 
Zone will soon become a "luxury" if the present progress toward 
health is continued. 

Sanitary Department. 

The Department of Sanitation had the care of the health of 
the Canal Zone and of the cities of Colon and Panama, and had 
charge of all hospitals and quarantines. 

It supervised cutting down brush, draining swamps and 
covering ground with oil. All persons living in the Zone were 
vaccinated, quarantine was made eff'ective; drinking water was 
supervised, streets paved, roads constructed and sewers estab- 
lished. 



50 Panama — Part I. 



Sanitary Department — (Cont'd). 

A large hospital was conducted at Colon, another on the 
high hills of Ancon, a sanitarium was maintained on Toboga 
Island and a leper colony was located at Palo Seco. 

When the United States of North America took charge of 
the Panama Canal Zone — benefiting by that Government's expe- 
rience in Cuba, and realizing the necessity of destroying, in-so- 
far as possible, the pest of mosquitoes, if the healthfulness of 
the workmen employed in the construction of the Canal was to 
be preserved — the first effort of the sanitary department was to 
dispose of the mosquito. Under the old order, during the French 
occupancy, the feet of the beds in the hospitals were placed in 
cups holding water to protect the patients from the pest of ants. 
Here, as in other unusual locations, was the breeding place of 
the mosquito. Even the font of holy water in the cathedral con- 
tained "wigglers." 

Beginning with the old French Canal Headquarters Build- 
ing in Panama City, and gradually extending this work to other 
buildings in the cities and along the route of the Canal, a system 
of fumigation was inaugurated. With the screening of the 
houses, draining of swamps, a generous use of crude oil over 
damp ground, and close watchfulness over the general health 
conditions, good results were soon attained. 

After the Sanitary Department had the health conditions of 
the Zone well in hand, a standing reward of $50.00, to be paid 
in gold, was offered for information of a case of yellow fever 
reported by any one not connected with the health department. 
To show how clear of this disease the territory had become, no 
reward was ever claimed. 

The trustees of the American Medicine Gold Medal awarded 
the medal for 1912 to the chief of the United States medical 
corps in the Canal Zone, as "the American physician who had 
performed the most conspicuous and noteworthy service in the 
domain of medicine in the last year." 



MOSQUITOES. 

Means of transmission of malaria and yellow fever. 
Malaria fever, known also as chills and fever, fever and 
ague, intermittent, remittent and pernicious fever. 
Over fifty families of mosquitoes classified. 
One female lays many thousand eggs a year. 
Twelve generations are produced annually. 
Anopheles cause malaria, 
gtygonia cause yellow fever. 



The Canal. 3) 

MOSQUITOES— (Cont'd). 

The propagation of malaria is according- to the following 

1st. The mosquito bites the patient suffering from malaria 
in nme days the mosquito becomes infected. 

2d. She lays her eggs in standing water. 

3d. The larvae, "wigglers," are hatched. They pass twelve 
days m their journey to mosquito life, all this time in water. 

4th. The full grown female mosquito is then ready to con- 
tmue the cycle. 

The female mosquito is the biter. The blood sucked from 
human bemgs seems necessary for the development of her eggs. 

. The fight against malaria, as exemplified by the mosquito 
brigade on the Canal Zone, passes through five stages : 

1st To prevent her from laying her eggs. To do this 
stagnant water must be eliminated, swamps drained, and low 
places filled up. 

2d. Cover all stagnant water with oil to kill the wigglers 
The wigglers live m the water twelve days while on their road 
to maturity. They grow, they eat and breathe. To breathe 
they must come to the water surface once a minute. If thev 
breathe oil, they are ''goners." ^ 

f,-v.^ l^' ^^^^y^ng the fight against the grown mosquito, swat- 
ting her wherever found. , ^vvctu 

o-off.-^^^; P^^^.?^t^2^, mosquitoes, by means of screens, from 
getting to possible future patients. 

5th. Isolating the new patient from the mosquito. 

fullv^fmi^^'flo^Ti!' "^«^?"^?« i« "^ore easily and more success- 
tully fought than the malaria mosquito, for it is a "civihzed" 
mosquito, hvmg near human habitation. Modern sewerage 
water systems, filling of low ground, etc., are the means 

Addendum. 

Two hundred million acres of land in the United States are 
either swamp land or subject to overflow. Two hundred and 

motquito"Stfs.'^^^^^ " ^'^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^- ^- -^h ^-' ^-m 
These acres can be added to the wealth of the country a<! 

bIso?labor ' """"'^ '"'"' '"■■ ™<^'''""^' ™<^dical%erv?ce^knd 
Moral : Swat the mosquito ! 



52 Panama — Part I. 



TYPHOID AND THE FLY— 

THE FLY AND TYPHOID. 

The fly, a carrier of germs of disease. 

Great epidemics of typhoid have been traced to the fly. 

The law of nature, "No filth, no flies." 

Swat the fly. Remove the filth. 

Eight days develops a fly from the egg. 

Inoculation has proven successful and is compulsory in the 
armies of the United States and Great Britain. 

The voracity of the fly is unlimited ; if the supply of food in 
sight is greater than the capacity of its stomach, it promptly dis- 
gorges and begins its eating all over again, 

BUBONIC PLAGUE. 

The bubonic plague is spread by infected fleas. These fleas 
take refuge on rats. These nomadic animals cruise into all ports, 
whether in the tropical or temperate zones, by means of ships. 

It would seem that the natural advance of medical science 
will soon ensure the elimination of not only rats and mice, but 
of their compatriot the cat, and possibly have a strong restrain- 
ing influence on that best friend of man, the dog. 

Great is the medicine man ! 

HOOK-WORM AND HEALTH. 

The hook-worm is a parasitic worm which hooks on the wall 
of the small intestine and absorbs the blood of the patient, caus- 
ing severe anemia or lassitude. This malady is prevalent among 
the negroes and ignorant whites of warm tropical countries, 
and is a contagious disease. 

Relief and cure are obtained from some of the products of 
the eucalyptus tree. 

SMALLPOX. 

This much dreaded disease is eradicated by enforced vac- 
cination. 



The Canal. 53 

(D) 
Historical Summary. 



THE FRENCH CANAL. 

In 1876, France sent Lieutenant Wyse to the United States 
of Colombia to obtain an inter-oceanic canal concession. 

In 1878, the Colombian government granted to "The Civil 
International Inter-Oceanic Canal Society" the exclusive priv- 
ilege of constructing a canal from ocean to ocean thro Colom- 
bian territory. 

In 1879, de Lesseps became connected with the project. 

First dirt was thrown January 1, 1880. 

The Canal Company failed in 1888. 

From that date to the date of sale to the United States only 
enough work was done along the line of the Canal to hold the 
concession. 

The French organization was a civil company. The money 
to build the Canal was raised in France by popular subscription. 
The Canal work was let to private contractors. 

The authorities of Colombia, the officers of the Canal Com- 
pany and the contractors, all combined to make money at the 
expense of the welfare of the Company. 

The engineers did not understand the necessities of the 
undertaking. No data of past expenses attached to work of such 
magnitude and attended by such great difficulties was obtain- 
able. They had no such machinery as that used in the present 
work. They planned a sea-level canal, which is practically impos- 
sible even in this day of plentiful money, high grade machinery, 
honesty in the administration of executive affairs and a govern- 
ment with unlimited resources in power. 

The plans of the French Company provided for a bottom 
width of the Canal of 150 feet, whereas, under the United States' 
present successful arrangement, the bottom of the Canal varies 
from 300 feet to 1,000 feet in width. The French also provided 
for an ocean water level Canal, damming the Chagres River at 
some point before it entered the locality of the Canal. The 
unusual tide conditions were supposed to be overcome by a series 
of obstructions in the Canal itself. These tide conditions were 
a heavy problem. The mean level of the two oceans was the 
same, but the average tide of the Atlantic was about two feet, 
while that of the Pacific was nearer 22 feet. The rush of these 
waters four times a day presented a heavy problem that does not 
occur in the present Canal, with its locks and elevations. 

The great unhealthfulness of the Isthmus, the small percent- 
age of men and officials who were able to work (at times only 



54 Panama — Part I. 



THE FRENCH CANAL— (Cont'd). 

about twenty-five per cent being on duty, the remainder being in 
hospitals or debilitated) , and with graft rampant in every depart- 
ment, in addition to the natural difficulties to be surmounted, all 
combined to bring about a condition of affairs which culminated 
in the collapse of the French Company. 

After their troubles with graft, dishonesty, sickness, weather 
conditions, floods, and unknown mechanical problems, the offi- 
cials of the Company began to feel confidence in the future suc- 
cess of the project, when the money became exhausted. Stock 
influences, scandal, the poverty of the common people of France, 
who had furnished the money by popular subscription, and the 
latter's loss of faith in the enterprise and its officers, all com- 
bined to throw the Company into the hands of a receiver. De 
Lesseps and his compatriots were brought to trial and disgraced 
before the world, and de Lesseps ended his days in an insane 
asylum, grown old with honor, but "caught in bad company" — 
becoming the mark for every dissatisfied person. 

As the progress of the world made more evident the neces- 
sity for an inter-oceanic canal, and as all evidence pointed to the 
United States as the logical builder, many efforts were made to 
sell the remains of the French Canal and its franchise to that 
country. But, true to their past traditions, each attempt was in 
the nature of an over-valuation. 

The rivalry of the two Canal routes of Panama and Nicara- 
gua became more pronounced, until, feeling that no bargain could 
be made for the first named route, a contract was almost com- 
pleted for the second, when the holders of the Panama Canal 
stock became suddenly panic-stricken and consented to a con- 
tract by the terms of which the United States of America seems 
to have made a splendid business investment. 

The amount of excavation done by the French shows that 
they did some good work, but they lacked the advantages made 
possible by the great advance of the present age in machinery 
and sanitation. Much of the machinery and many of the houses 
they constructed were put to practical use by their successors — 
the United States Government — after repairing the ravages 
caused by the many years of dis-use and exposure in a tropical 
country. 



FERDINAND DE LESSEPS. 

One of the most notable figures connected with the history 
of the French Canal's inception and subsequent development was 
Ferdinand de Lesseps, noted French diplomat and engineer 
(1805-1894), who was really the first man to undertake the pur- 
suit of the work. De Lesseps superintended the construction of 



The Canal. 55 

the Suez Canal and in this was considered highly successful. He 
next undertook the building of the Panama Canal. He estimated 
the probable cost of its construction to be $120,000,000. Instead, 
$280,000,000 was spent on it under his direction and then the 
Company failed. i ^ -. j j 

Subsequently, he was tried and convicted of fraud and 

bribery. 



THE ACQUISITION OF THE CANAL ZONE BY THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Chronology. 

Ship Canal treaty with United States : 

Signed November 18, 1903. 

Ratified by Panama December 2, 1903. 

Ratified by Senate of the United States February 23, 1904. 

Ratified by President of United States February 25, 1904. 

Ratification exchanged February 26, 1904. 

Treaty proclaimed February 26, 1904. 

United States occur)^"e-' May 19, 1904. 
****** 

In 1904 the United States of America bought the Panama 
Canal Zone from the new Republic of Panama. 

This is a strip of land five miles wide on each side of the 
center line of the Canal— a total width of ten miles— extending 
across the Isthmus from deep water in the Atlantic to deep water 
in the Pacific. The republic of Panama received for this strip of 
land $10,000,000 in cash and the payment annually, beginning 
nine years after the signing of the treaty, of $250,000— this pay- 
ment to extend to perpetuity. 

Terms. 

The cities of Panama and Colon and their harbors were ex- 
cepted. 

The right was granted to the United States to occupy and 
control any other lands and waters outside of the Zone which 
might be necessary or convenient for the construction, main- 
tenance and operation, sanitation and protection of the Canal or 
auxiliary canals or other works necessary for the Canal. Also 
all islands in the limits of the Zone including the islands of Perico, 
Naos, Culebra, and Flamenco in the Bay of Panama. 

Panama granted to the United States the right to use such 
rivers, lakes and other bodies of water in its limits for naviga- 
tion, water supplies and power needed for the operation of the 
Canal. 

Panama granted to the United States a monopoly for con- 
struction, maintenance and operation of any system of communi- 



56 Panama — Part I. 



cation by means of canal or railroad across its territory between 
the Caribbean and the Pacific ocean. 

Panama agreed to United States supervision of sanitary 
conditions and maintenance of good order in Panama City and 
Colon. Panama granted to the United States its rights to the 
Panama Railroad and its properties. (See page 45.) 

The United States took charge of the Panama Canal Zone 
May 4, 1904. 

The Canal Zone has since been enlarged by the submerged 
areas contained in Gatun Lake that extended outside the regular 
outline of the Zone, as per the terms of the treaty between the 
United States and the republic of Panama. This district in- 
cludes principally the valleys of the Chagres, Gatun and Trinidad 
rivers, and contains approximately seventy square miles. 

The 1912 census gave the Zone a population of 61,279 — al- 
most all the countries of the earth being represented. 



SUEZ CANAL. 

For purposes of comparison between the Panama Canal and 
that other inter-oceanic canal, the Suez, the principal facts rela- 
tive to the building of the Suez Canal may be of interest and are 
appended for that purpose. 

The Suez Canal was begun in 1860 and finished in 1869. 
It is a tide-level canal, passing through a natural depression 
between sand hills. No cuts exceeded fifty or sixty feet. The 
sand was carried out of the cut in baskets on men's backs. Labor 
was furnished by the Khedive of Egypt, who made this work 
compulsory on his subjects; 25,000 to 30,000 men was the great- 
est number of men employed at one time; drinking water was 
the most troublesome question; 80,000,000 cubic yards of earth 
was removed at a cost of $100,000,000. The canal was exca- 
vated 66 miles, dredged through swamp 14 miles and passed 
through a lake for a distance of eight miles. There was no rock 
excavation. It has no locks and little tide. 

It was built seventy-two feet wide at the bottom, one hun- 
dred and ninety-seven feet wide at the top and the depth of 
water was twenty-six feet. It shortened the distance to India 
from 11,379 miles to 7,638 miles — a saving of 5,751 miles. Dur- 
ing construction, the towns of Port Said and Suez were said to 
be the two pest-holes of earth. 

The same quantity of earth excavated in building the Suez 
Canal was practically excavated each year during the building 
of the Panama Canal. 

It is supposed that a canal was built along the route of the 
Suez Canal 600 B. C. and that it continued in use for 1,000 years. 

January 1st, 1912, the Suez Canal toll rate was reduced to 
6.75 francs per net registered ton. 



The Caribbean Sea. 37 



PART II. 

ZONE AND REPUBLIC. 

(a) The Caribbean Sea. 

(b) The Canal Zone. 

(c) The Republic of Panama. 



Panama — Part II. 




(a) Ruins of Spanish Barracks at Porto Bello. 

(b) Plaza in Colon (the Tree in the Center of Photograph is a Camphor 

Tree). 



The Caribbean Sea. 59 



(A) 

CHARACTERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HISTORY OF THE 
CARIBBEAN COAST. 

Associated with the history of this wonderful land were 
certain characters whose names are inseparably linked there- 
with. A sketch of this locality would be incomplete without at 
least brief reference to such men as Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the 
explorer; Henry Morgan, the buccaneer; Edward Vernon, the 
English admiral, and William Kidd, the pirate. 

From the beginning of the 16th Century to well up within 
the 18th Century the entire Spanish Main, which comprised the 
islands of the Caribbean and the corresponding coasts of Cen- 
tral and South America, or at least those parts which were 
inhabited, was a veritable hotbed of piracy and martial dis- 
turbances. 

Vasco Nunez de Balboa. 

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was among the bravest and most 
successful Spanish discoverers. 

He was born in 1475 and was executed by being beheaded 
in 1517. 

He discovered the Pacific ocean, September 26, 1513. 

A short while later he dismembered two ships and had them 
carried across the Isthmus on the backs of his men. Reaching 
the western coast, he reassembled his two vessels and set sail on 
the Pacific — the first known European to navigate that great 
ocean. 

His jealous contemporaries finally succeeded in putting him 
in prison and he was executed at the age of forty-two. 

Buccaneers of The Caribbean. 

The buccaneers were bands of piratical adventurers of dif- 
ferent nationalities united in opposition to Spain who maintained 
themselves originally in the Caribbean, but in later days also laid 
waste to the Pacific shores of Central and South America. 

Spain sent a fleet of ships twice a year to the new world for 
treasure. These fleets were convoyed by men-of-war, and there 
were at times forty or fifty ships in the fleet. 

They called at the various ports of the Caribbean for their 
treasure and merchandise. Peru sent its treasure to Panama, 
from whence it was brought overland to Porto Bello, on the 
Caribbean, 

The buccaneers considered these ships their legitimate prey. 
They were at all times on the lookout for a ship not properly 
guarded or that had become separated from the fleet. 



60 Panama — Part II. 



CARIBBEAN COAST CHARACTERS— (ContM). 

An annual fair was held in Porto Bello during these days 
and the wealth of the merchants who exhibited and traded there 
was almost unbelievable, while the volume of business trans- 
acted ran well up into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The 
merchandise bought, sold and traded at these fairs was mostly 
shipped back to Spain via Havana. 

Henry Morgan, Buccaneer. 

Henry Morgan was a Welchman, brave and unscrupulous. 
He was kidnapped when a boy and carried to Barbados. He 
later escaped and joined the pirates. His first experience in 
piracy was in command of small ships which did little damage. 
Continued success caused other freebooters to join his command 
until he became of importance. Morgan attacked and captured 
Porto Bello on two occasions. On the first occasion the Governor 
of the City of Panama sent a messenger to him asking him for a 
sample of the weapons that had brought him such wonderful 
success. Morgan sent him a pistol and a small quantity of 
ammunition, with the message that he, Morgan, would later 
come to Panama City for their return. The Governor sent them 
back to Morgan, saying that he did not need them and that 
Morgan would show good judgment if he did not attempt to 
come to Panama City. 

Morgan's second attack on Porto Bello (1671) was made 
from the land side. Among his prisoners, taken before they 
could gain the shelter of the forts, after Morgan's attack, were 
members of the religious orders — women as well as men. Mor- 
gan had ladders made, long and broad enough for two or three 
of his men to ascend at one time. These ladders he forced the 
nuns and priests to carry and place against the walls. His own 
men scaled the forts or castles, and after a brief and bloody 
battle captured them. They spent days there in the pleasures 
of loot and drink and rapine, sparing no one. During this time 
the place could have been easily recaptured by the Spaniards, had 
the attempt been made. 

They then sailed for the mouth of the Chagres River, 
destroying Fort Lorenzo and the Spanish town of Chagres, 
located at the river's mouth. In boats, they started up the river 
on their way to Panama City. They expected to subsist on their 
way by foraging and to be no more than two days en route. 

Contrary to their plans, they were eight days on the way. 
The Spaniards had retreated and removed or destroyed all pro- 
vender and the piratical force was in sad straits for food — 
being forced to subsist on leather as their principal diet, backed 
up by a drink of water. After passing the summit, they found 
forage plentiful. 



The Caribbean Sea. "* 



CARIBBEAN COAST CHARACTERS— (Cont'd). 

The Governor of Panama met Morgan and his men before 
the city The Panaman force consisted of two troops of cavalry, 
four regiments of infantry and some Indian allies. The cavalry 
became mired in a swamp and the sharpshooters of Morgan 
soon caused the Panaman force to retreat mto the city, ihe 
fighting within the city was from house to house and was very 
sanguinary; but Morgan forced a surrender in a fe\y hours 
Then his men began their orgies of drinking and rapine, and 
continued these actions for a month. ^ ^ t ^i. 

Finally they returned to the Atlantic side of the Isthmus, 
taking booty to the limit of their carrying capacity. 

The most of the jewels and government treasure ot the City 
of Panama were taken to sea in ships before Morgan and his 
men arrived, altho more was left than they could carry away. 
The division of the loot from the City of Panama among the 
pirates caused much dissatisfaction among them, showing that 
the old adage of honor among thieves did not always apply to 
the established rules of piracy. The sack of old Panama City, 
coming as it did at a time of peace between England and bpam, 
caused such a strong feeling against piracy that England pro- 
ceeded to extreme measures to stamp it out ; but without great 
success, however, until Morgan was commissioned to accomplish 
that result, on the principle, it is presumed, that no one knows 
the ways of the thief quite as well as the thief himself. Morgan 
as Governor of Jamaica, had the pleasure of punishing many ot 
his old associates for piracy. He died as Sir Henry Morgan. 

Edward Vernon, English Admiral. 

Among the bravest and most spectacular characters of this 
period was Edward Vernon— Statesman and Soldier. He took 
part in expeditions in various portions of the world. While he 
was a member of the English Parliament, in a speech criticising 
the English government, he claimed he could take the Spanish 
stronghold of Porto Bello with but six ships, and he was sent by 
the Minister to prove his words. . 

He attacked Porto Bello (1739) and captured it after only 
two days' bombardment, losing but seven men. 

He became an English hero and died in 1757. 

William Kidd, Pirate. 

William Kidd was the son of a Scottish minister. He went 
to sea when a boy. Later when sent in command of a warship 
to overthrow the pirates, he, himself, turned pirate. The stories 
of his wealth, his cruelty and his depredations have been immor- 
talized in American fiction. 

He was captured in Boston and hanged in London in the 
year 1701. 



62 Panama — Part II. 



CLOUD FORMATIONS. 

Any book, issued as this one is for the purpose of giving 
information that will add to the knowledge and pleasure of the 
holder as he passes along the line of his journey, would not be 
complete if it failed to mention the wonderful cloud formations 
which are to be seen in the warm countries of the tropics through 
which we pass en route to Panama. 

The clouds will bank over the water along the line of the 
horizon in heavy masses and are of delicate shades of coloring. 
Cities, villages, fortresses, spires, animals, figures of almost any 
form, can be plainly seen in the clouds — not the fancy of one 
person's imagination, but easily to be pointed out and to be seen 
by all ; and as these forms change from child to old man, or from 
horse and rider to horses and chariot, or other as positive forms 
appear in succession, the view of the clouds — forms — colors — and 
the wonderfully clear blue of the waters below — unite in creating 
successive pictures that will probably never be effaced from 
mind. 



APPROACHING COLON FROM THE SEA. 

When approaching Colon from the Caribbean, one first 
sees the high hills of Porto Bello, twenty miles to the south, with 
its large rock quarries that furnished the rock for the Gatun 
Locks; then the long circular sweep of the land becomes ap- 
parent, with the light house to the right, the low ground in front, 
and the line of low hills sloping back from the coast; next the 
buildings and long rows of royal palms along the shore drive 
and the mass of vegetation in the background. Gatun Dam 
occupies the center of this glorious stage-setting. 

Entrance to Colon harbor is made through the breakwater. 

After a visit from the quarantine officers, with their per- 
mission, a landing is made at the wharf in Colon; that is, pro- 
vided the boat is a foreign boat, or an American boat that has 
touched at a foreign port. An American boat direct from the 
United States, not having landed at any foreign port, lands at 
the wharf in Cristobal. There is little difference in the location, 
however, as the wharves are side by siae. 

After an examination of the baggage by the customs offi- 
cers, the passenger is permitted to proceea as ne uesnes, — eicner 
to a hotel in Colon, or by rail across the Isthmus to I'anama 
City. 

It would seem best to stop temporarily m Colon, tnereoy 
making return unnecessary, if one desires to visit Colon and 
vicinity before proceeding up the Pacific coast. 



The Canal Zone. 63 

(B) 
COLON. 

Pointers and Places of Interest. 

Wireless tower. 

Ocean drives. 

Plaza; one block wide, two blocks long, well kept and filled 
with strange and interesting vegetation. 

Rows of roj-al palms. 

Mt. Hope (formerly Monkey Hill) Cemetery. 

De Lesseps statue of Columbus and Indian maiden. 

Oil tanks filled with oil by a pipeline from Panama City, 
laid along railroad right-of-way. 

Tide varying from two feet to, at times, none. 

Native bathing beach east of wireless station. 

Hospital near wireless station. 

Take coach — rates by trip or hour, ordinary trip ten cents 
gold — see rates posted in coach. If possible, choose an English 
speaking driver. Be sure to make explicit contract before enter- 
ing coach. 

Have it specifically understood with the driver whether you 
are to pay in gold or silver, and how much. (Ratio gold and 
silver, two to one.) Each new stop you make may liable you 
for a new^ "fare." Avoid all controversies with driver; otherwise 
you may find yourself suddenly haled into a Panaman court, 
whose operations may be difficult for you to understand. 

Colon is 22 miles vrest of City of Panama. 

Colon of today is the Aspinwall of earlier days — that hotbed 
of disease and death — where heat and dirt and marsh and water 
all combined against mankind ; where fevers decimated and cli- 
mate enervated. 

Aspinwall was located on Manzanillo Island and was separ- 
ated from the mainland by several miles of swamps. It was 
founded in 1850 by the Panama Railroad Companv, and was 
named after W. H. Aspinwall, one of the principal shareholders 
of that company. 

The arrangements of the present citv of Colon are very dif- 
ferent. The census of 1911 gives it a population of 17,748 ; the 
streets are paved, swamps filled, sewage provided for, water 
and electricity everywhere, and sanitary conditions almost per- 
fect. In fact, all the general conditions surrounding the old 
town of Aspinwall are changed, except the downpour of water. 
Even the American Government cannot control that. 

This locality has probably the heaviest rainfall of any on 
earth, with the possible exception of Porto Bello. The town is 



64 Panama — Part II. 



COLON— (Cont'd). 

located only three or four feet above the Caribbean, and its 
natural health conditions are the worst. 

Colon is the second city of the Republic of Panama. Like the 
City of Panama, it is located on a tract of land surrounded by 
United States territory. 

The Panama Railroad Company filled in swamps, thereby 
connecting the original island of Manzanillo, on which was lo- 
cated the town of Aspinwall, to the mainland. By the terms of 
the Panama Railroad Company's lease, almost all the land on 
which Aspinwall was located was to revert to the railroad com- 
pany after a certain term of years. Since the French Canal 
Company transferred these rights with its canal property to the 
United States of America, that Government in time will be- 
come owner of the ground upon which Colon is built. (See page 
47.) 

This makes a peculiar international situation — that of one 
nation owning in fee simple a city in another nation's territory, 
and in addition this city being surrounded by the first nation's 
territory. This situation applies to both Colon and the City of 
Panama. 

However, there need be little fear of international compli- 
cations in this case, as the United States by right of treaty exer- 
cises a fatherly control over the welfare of the Panaman Govern- 
ment, to the end that good health and good behavior may endure. 

Native hotels are good enough, if the guest is not too partic- 
ular, and he can imbibe a touch or two of local color there. If he 
prefers no question as to the standard of his entertainment, the 
government supports a hotel here, as at Panama City, that will 
satisfy the most fastidious. (See page 15.) 

After locating, get a coach — first making your contract with 
the driver, per trip or hour, and specifying whether payment in 
gold or silver is understood. 

Drive over the paved streets and surrounding roads, and try 
to imagine what old Aspinwall in its flowery days must have 
been, with its swamps and sickness. Drive to Mt. Hope cemetery 
and compare, if you can, this modern and beautiful burial place 
with the old place of death called Monkey Hill. 

Monkey Hill was the final place of deposit — if such a term 
may be used — for such dead as were disposed of in the old days 
of Aspinwall. 

Drive through Cristobal and along the entrance to the Canal, 
past the large warehouses of the Commission. Notice the oil 
tanks on the higher ground, to which oil is brought from Panama 
City by pipeline laid on the right-of-way of the railroad. 

Drive along the winding streets, past the de Lesseps statue 
of Columbus pointing toward the rising sun and telling the In- 



The Canal Zone. 65 



COLON— (Cont'd). 

dian maiden of the wonders of the worlds beyond the sea. Con- 
tinue along the sea drive, by the rows of royal palms, down to 
the hospital, past the wireless station, if you choose. And, when 
you return to your hotel, you will probably agree that many 
interesting things, in history and in fact, are brought to your 
mind, even in Colon. 

Gold and Silver Ratio. 

In the Republic of Panama the ratio of gold and silver is 2 
to 1, or one dollar gold equals two dollars silver, or ten cents gold 
equals twenty cents silver. 

CRISTOBAL. 

Cristobal is the Zone town adjacent to Colon — the two towns 
forming the complete name of Christopher Columbus. Cristobal 
is a modern working city of large interests. 

The ice factory, the bakery, the laundry, and the great store- 
houses of the Isthmian Commission are here, all parts of which 
business are handled with such close attention to the most min- 
ute details that managers of large business interests might here 
get many good ideas for application to their own plants. 

PORTO BELLO. 

Named by Columbus, meaning "Good Harbor." 

Twenty miles east, along coast from Colon. 

A natural harbor and bay between Buenaventura Island and 
Drake's Point. Good depth of water and easy of entrance. 

Founded 1584. 

Porto Bello, with Colon, two rainiest places on earth. 

Was Atlantic port on main line of travel from South Amer- 
ican Pacific coast ports to Spain. 

Grew rapidly in importance and became a great depot for 
gold and silver en route to Spain, brought overland from Panama. 

Great fairs were held once a year and immense quantities 
of business were transacted. 

Twice a year, a fleet of merchant ships convoyed by war 
vessels was sent thro the Caribbean to collect the treasures, 
making Porto Bello at this time. 

Destroyed by Morgan 1671. (See page 60.) 

Morgan first attacked and sacked Porto Bello, then San 
Lorenzo, the fort at the mouth of the Chagres River, and then 
the old city of Panama. 

Destroyed by Admiral Vernon of English Navy in 1739. 
(See page 61.) 



66 Panama — Part II. 



PORTO BELLO. 
Points of Interest. 

Picturesque ruins. 

Remains of fort. 

Sea wall. 

Old cannon. 

Location of quarries from which stone was taken for con- 
crete of Gatun Locks. 

Porto Bello may be reached from Colon by boat. This is 
frequently an unusually rough passage; in fact, it is a popular 
saying in the Canal Zone that one who can make this trip with- 
out experiencing mal-de-mere is immune from that unpleasant 
discomfort. 

FORT LORENZO. 

Formerly at the mouth of the Chagres River. 

Here boats were taken for the voyage up the river on the 
way to the City of Panama, previous to the building of the Pan- 
ama Railroad. 

It was garrisoned by the Spaniards, and was destroyed by 
Morgan and his men prior to their march on Panama City. 

It was later destroyed by Admiral Vernon of the English 
Navy. 

Morgan's success in attacking this fort was hastened by an 
accident. One of his marksmen, in a spirit of fun (?), shot an 
arrow, to which was attached a blazing torch, into the fort. As 
a result, fire was set to a thatched roof and soon the entire 
enclosure was ablaze. In the succeeding excitement a surrender 
of the fort was easily attained. 

THE TOWN OF OLD CHAGRES. 

A seaport at the mouth of the Chagres River. 
It was of considerable importance before the opening of the 
railroad. 

Destroyed by Morgan, 1671. 
Destroyed by Admiral Vernon, 1740. 

MOUNTAIN ELEVATIONS OF THE ZONE. 

The Pacific coast chain of mountains that extends from North 
to South America loses its height when passing thro the Canal 
Zone. While the republic of Panama contains peaks of 8,000 
and 9,000 feet altitude, those of the Zone can hardly be classed 
as more than hills. But what they lose in altitude they gain in 
the difficulty of ascent; one can hardly fight his way up and 
down their sides thro the dense jungle surrounded by heat and 
the humidity of the atmosphere without feeling quite a respect 
for them. 



The Canal Zone. 67 



MOUNTAIN ELEVATIONS— (Cont'd). 

Below is a list of the twenty-five highest elevations in the 
Zone with a numbered index of their location on the map on 
page 24. 

Inside the Canal Zone. 

Elevation 
(in feet above 
No. Name. sea level). 

1 Balboa 1149 

2 Cobra 1129 

3 Salvador 994 

4 Gordo 972 

5 Gato 929 

6 Casava 906 

7 Colombia 900 

8 Pienzo 883 

9 Semaphor 800 

10 Mandinga 797 

11 Hormiguercs 770 

12 Gausno 741 

13 Caimitillo 716 

14 Cocoli 690 

15 Jaugua 663 

16 Ancon 654 

17 Gold Hill 650 

18 East 608 

19 Morales 598 

20 Luisa 593 

21 Gatim 593 

22 Pina 574 

23 Victoria 541 

24 West 537 

25 Teal 536 

Outside the Canal Zone. 

26 Salud 1151 

27 Iron 1150 

28 Santa Rita 883 

29 Chinal 748 

30 Daniels 587 

31 Lindero 522 

32 Gigantic 512 

33 Espinosa 247 

ZONE LANDS. 

The ownership and control of Panama Canal Zone lands are 
based on the old Spanish laws. 



68 



Panama — Part II. 




Tropical Views. 



The Canal Zone. 69 



ZONE LANDS— (Cont'd). 

Their measurement is based on the hectare. A hectare is 
2.47 acres. 

There are three classes of lands in the Zone: (l)the public 
lands, (2) lands belonging to the Panama Railroad Company 
and (3) private lands. 

In the Zone are 436 square miles. Seventy-three square 
miles of land belong to private ownership, leaving 363 square 
miles owned by the United States or by the Panama Railroad 
Co., of which 96 square miles are occupied by the Canal. 

The ground of the Zone is not suitable for farming, because 
of the condition of soil and general configuration of country. 

Perpetual title cannot be assured. 

The system of taxation must conform to the old Spanish 
system, as in Panama. This is not satisfactory to Americans, 
and other people are not desired as citizens. 

Strong influence^! con «i e'er it best to use the Zone solely for 
the operation of the Canal. 

RAINFALL. 

The seasons of the Canal Zone are divided into the wet and 
the dry. The dry season corresponds to the winter months of 
the northern hemisphere, and the wet season to the summer 
months. 

During the dry season, the weather is pleasant and enjoy- 
able, varied occasionally by showers. The sun may be bright and 
the air hot during the day, but at sundown come cooling breezes, 
and the night air calls for more and heavier clothing. 

During the wet season there seem to be periods when "the 
heavens open and the waters descend." 

The record of rainfall at Ancon for 1910 was 91 inches ; of 
the central division 129 inches ; while that of the Atlantic section 
was 158 inches. When abnormal records of rainfall are men- 
tioned, Porto Bello is always thought of. The records at Porto 
Bello for 1909 and 1910 were respectively 170 and 237 inches. 

At Porto Bello, November 29, 1911, 2.48 inches of water fell 
in three mmutes and the total precipitation from this "shower" 
was 7.6 inches. 

The records show that one of the greatest rainfalls on the 
Isthmus occurred on December 28th and 29th, 1909, when 10.86 
inches of water fell in twenty-four hours. 

WINDS. 

The average velocity of the wind on the Canal Zone is not 
great. 

During the year 1910, the average velocity of the wind was, 
at Ancon 7.3 miles per hour, and at Cristobal 9.8 miles per hour, 



70 Panama — Part II. 



while the highest velocity during the year was 39 miles per hour, 
which was attained at Culebra. 

TEMPERATURE. 

Range of temperature during 1910 : 
Ancon 63°. to 96° 
Culebra 61° to 94 ^ 
Cristobal 66° to 92°. 
There is no great difference between wet and dry season 
averages, but the daily variation is greater in the dry season. 

WATER RESERVATIONS. 

At convenient points where the topography of a valley made 
it feasible, water reservations were established. 

The immediate water shed was policed, all brush and un- 
sanitary conditions removed, and these reserves have become 
very attractive and are both interesting and instructive to the 
tourist. 

VINES.. 

The number, the variety and the characteristics of the vines 
of the Canal Zone are legion. It is a far cry from the vine as 
small as one's finger that meanders through and around the grass 
and jungle, never growing larger but always growing longer, to 
the immense vine, bigger than any rope, that climbs the largest 
tree and by its strength entwines and chokes its life out; vines 
that cling and kill; vines that cover the trunk of the tree with 
their leaves interlapping until the whole surface is shut away 
from light and moisture and it dies from lack of nutrition. 

ANIMALS. 

A short list of the animals includes deer, tapirs, ant eaters, 
lizards (iguanas), monkeys, wild hogs, mountain cats, opossums, 
ground hogs, armidillos, alligators and snakes. 

There is no great danger to be expected from the wild ani- 
mals of this region. 

BIRDS. 

There are many birds and of brilliant plumage, but no sweet 
songsters. Their cries are harsh. Parrots, paroquets, wild tur- 
keys and pheasants are the principal birds. 

MINERALS. 

The country has great mineral wealth, but the mines are 
undeveloped. 



The Canal Zone. 71 



INDUSTRIES. 

Cattle raising and the shipment of hides form two important 
industries. 

CENTIPEDES AND MILLIPEDES. 

These are two orders of articulates related to insects, worms 
and spiders. They have fang-like prehensile jaws, perforated at 
the extremities to allow the passage of the liquid venom into the 
wound that they inflict. They are carnivorous and poisonous, 
and inflict a severe and oft-times fatal bite. The bite ordi- 
narily yields readily to an application of ammonia, however. 

TARANTULAS. 

Tarantulas belong to the mining section of the spider family. 
They are found in dry places exposed to the sun. They live in 
underground passages. 

The bite is painful but not dangerous. 

WARNING. 

It is the custom in the tropics to shake the clothing and 
shoes before putting them on, in order to dispose of the possible 
presence of centipedes, millipedes, tarantulas and other unwel- 
come guests. 

The poison of insects and animals inhabiting tropical coun- 
tries is not so virulent as those of the temperate zones. 

ANTS. 

Perhaps comparatively few readers realize that the ant pop- 
ulation greatly outnumbers any and every other specie or family 
among the inhabitants of the earth. In the temperate zone each 
field contains its teeming biflions and each hill its millions. 

In the tropics the ant is omnipresent and ranges in size from 
the one almost too small to be seen to those that travel in great 
armies, destroying all life as they advance. Some of the latter 
species measure more than an inch in length. 

For our purpose there are two general families of ants, the 
black and the white. The large shiny black ants of the tropics 
are leaf-cutters that cause great havoc among fruit-bearing trees 
as well as to general vegetation. Their devious paths, fully 
twelve inches in width and of unknown length, packed solid by 
the tread for centuries of billions of these creatures, are so hard 
and smooth that travelers, struggling through the dense growth 
of the jungle, are forced to envy their well-beaten road. A 
description of their w^orking methods will be found in the chap- 
ter on Balboa Hill. (See page 76.) 

The White ant, or Termite, lives away from the light of day. 
It builds concealed roads or makes tunnels of mortar 



72 Panama — Part II. 



when compelled to pass from one location to another 
or along the trunk of a tree until it can enter the body 
of the wood. If a tree is attacked by these Termites, it might 
as well give up hope of life at once, for its death is only a ques- 
tion of time. The wooden posts under the Canal quarters have 
never been made immune from the attacks of these ants. An 
examination of these supports will probably soon locate an earth- 
en tunnel the size of a wooden pencil running up its side. By 
breaking this tunnel, the Termites may be seen. An inspection 
of any furniture that has been in the Zone for some time will 
probably demonstrate the Termite method of destruction. 

For several years during the construction of the Canal, a 
suspension bridge swung across the Cut at Empire. The cables 
of this bridge passed over wooden supports on each bank. These 
supports had every appearance of strength. One day, out of 
curiosity, a man climbed to their top and found them completely 
honeycombed by Termites. Quick repair work was done and a 
new lesson learned of the destructive agencies always at work in 
the tropics. 

It may cause some surprise, while seated at a satisfactory 
spread in one of the best hotels in the Zone, to have a large, 
shiny, black ant appear over the side of the table and pass out 
of view among the dishes placed thereon. But this is not an 
unusual experience. 

Ants are the only pests over which Canal authorities have 
not gained control. Although they have been reduced materially 
in number, they have not been eliminated and you will find them 
in most unexpected places. 

EARTHQUAKES. 

While the instruments for earthquake observations, located 
at Ancon, show numerous indications of earth disturbances, so 
do those at all points where such instruments are located; and, 
while the Central American states are subject to unusual disturb- 
ances, yet it is a fact that no shock of magnitude has ever 
occurred in the Canal district. The ruins of old buildings in the 
City of Panama are pointed to as proof of this fact. 

It is well known that concrete resists earthquake shocks bet- 
ter than any other known building material. Consequently, it is 
believed there is little danger to the locks of the Canal from this 
source. 

CANAL EFFECT ON THE FISH. 

The United States Government completed a faunal survey 
of the Isthmian waters as early as 1911. It is proposed to 
make a second survey in five or ten years to ascertain the result 
of the intermixing of species of the fish of the two oceans. 



The Canal Zone. 73 



SPEED LAW OF THE PANAMA CANAL ZONE. 

Automobiles, motor cycles, bicycles, etc., must not exceed 
fifteen miles per hour on straight track, nor eight miles per hour 
when approaching or traversing curves, cross-roads, or streets 
of cities, towns or villages of the Canal Zone. 

Law of the Road. 

Meet and pass on left. Overtake and pass on right. 

WIRELESS STATIONS. 

All wireless stations in the Canal Zone are in charge of the 
Navy Department of the United States government, and are 
available for private and commercial business. 

A high-power station is located near Caimeto Junction, 
capable of communicating with points 3,000 miles distant. Sta- 
tions of less power are also located at Porto Bello and Colon 
on the Atlantic Coast, and at Balboa on the Pacific side. 

The United States government has made arrangements for 
high-power wireless stations to be constructed on the California 
Coast, on the Hawaiian Islands, in American Samoa, Guam, and 
in the Philippines, thereby enabling that government to be in 
constant communication with a territory embracing a distance 
which equals more than one-half of the circumference of the 
globe. 

UNOFFICIAL WEATHER BUREAU. 

Obtain a private weather prognosticator. That can be done 
by securing a piece of seaweed. Take it home with you and 
suspend it out of doors or away from artificial heat. If the weed 
continues dry and crisp, fine weather will continue. If the weed 
becomes flabby and moist, rain is likely. 

MILITARY DEFENSE OF THE ZONE. 

The Panama Canal Zone seems to be formed for natural 
defense. The locks, which are the vulnerable portion of the 
Canal, are located eight miles from deep water. The high lands 
of the Isthmus, as well as the islands of Panama Bay, all seem 
to be placed there as assistance in the general plans of defense, 
for no battleship could survive the land batteries long enough 
to succeed in doing damage to the locks. 

The Atlantic entrance can also be easily defended by shore 
batteries, having heavy guns in their emplacements, while the 
good roads of the Zone will admit of the rapid movement of 
troops to threatened locations in case of necessity in any emer- 
gency. 

A foe would hesitate before attempting to approach the 
Canal overland, for the dense jungle, the bottomless swamps, 



74 Panama — Part 11. 



the rough topography, the heavy rains, and the humid atmos- 
phere have been the cause of many failures on the part of 
military expeditions in the past and will so continue in the future 
if, unfortunately, any such occasion arises. 

MONROE DOCTRINE. 

Message of James Monroe to Congress, December 2, 1823. 

"With the existing colonies or dependencies (on this hemi- 
sphere) of any European power we have not interfered and will 
not interfere. But with the governments who have declared 
their independence and maintained it, and whose independence 
we have, on great consideration, and on just principles, acknowl- 
edged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of 
oppressing them or controlling, in any other manner, their 
destiny, by any European power, in any other light than as the 
manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
States." 

SHORT EXCURSIONS FROM POINTS ON THE CANAL ZONE. 

From Colon 

to Porto Bello. (See page 65.) 
Mouth of Chagres River. 
Mt. Hope Cemetery. (See page 64.) 
From Gatun 

to Mouth of Chagres River. (See page 80.) 
Islands in Gatun Lake. 
From Gorgona 

to Balboa Hill. (See page 76.) 
From Gamboa 

to Las Cruces. (See page 82.) 

Chilibrillo River Caverns. (See page 83.) 
up Chagres River (for alligators) . 
From Empire 

to Camacha Dam and Water Reservation. (See page 79.) 
Las Cascades Cocoa and Rubber Plantation. (Page 79.) 
From Las Cruces 

over "Royal Road to Panama." (See page 82.) 
From Panama City 

to Ancon Hill. (See page 82.) 

Old City of Panama. (See page 90.) 

Taboga Island. (See pages 83, 112.) 

Pearl Islands. (See page 112.) 

Balboa — Pacific entrance to canal. (See page 43.) 

Sea Beach. (See page 93.) 

Ancon Hospital Botanical Gardens. (See page 76.) 



The Canal Zone. 75 



A CAUTION TO EXCURSIONISTS. 

At the risk of seeming to over-state what the author feels 
is a most important warning, the stranger in this strange jumble 
of land and water is surrounded by teeming life, both vegetable and 
animal, and in all their turmoil for existence, if he has no guide, 
either in person or in this attempted warning, he may easily have 
undesirable experiences. Minute insect pests are found on the 
vegetation that will fasten themselves to the traveler much to 
his discomfort. Small wasps may have their nests disturbed and 
their activity is in reverse proportion to their size. 

Snakes may be found at any time or location, and they are 
of all sizes, either in length or circumference, from the coral 
snake, so-called from its red color — a small and dangerously 
poisonous snake — to the snake that will require two or three men 
to hold it up for a photograph. 

A nettle may be met with, called the "cow nettle," that stings 
the human flesh to an exasperating degree. 

And last, but by no means least, is the uncertain footing of 
the trail. During a recent tramp, desiring to shorten by a couple 
of steps the distance, the author stepped from the regular trail 
■ onto what was dry and hard-baked ground at the side of the path. 
His first step took his foot into the soft mud underneath the crust, 
and as he quickly placed his second foot alongside the first to 
help gain his perpendicular, it followed the course of the other 
downward, and he found himself half sunk into the black mud and 
slime. By getting a quick grip on a large rock at the side of the 
path he stopped his descent and was able to regain the original 
path with the help of a passing Jamaican negro, Vv'ho raised his 
respect for the mud of the Isthmus still further by saying: "I 
tell you, boss, you was lucky. You might have gone in over your 
head." Also, to show the uncertainties of the trail from above, 
as well as from below, one more experience might well be related. 
Having gone along the trail leading to Balboa Hill in the morning, 
we were returning in the afternoon, when a large object was seen 
in the path ahead. Using care in approach, since neither had a 
better weapon of defense than the umbrella, it was found the 
object was a full-grown sloth. The guide, after a short inspec- 
tion, said it had probably been caught in the tree-tops by some 
"mountain cat," its throat cut (he showed me the wound), its 
blood sucked and its body then allowed to drop to the ground. By 
way of parenthesis it might be said the claws of the sloth made 
very desirable mementoes. Since it lives in the tree-top all its 
life, is as large as a full-grown dog, and hangs below from the 
branches, its toenails are from one to two inches long and sharp. 
All these experiences, and others that might be related, will 
begin to give the reader a few ideas as to the need of caution 
and a guide while wandering in strange places. 



76 



Panama — Part II. 




Fourth of July Celebration at Cristobal. 

ANCON HOSPITAL BOTANICAL GARDENS. 

Persons interested in the vegetation of the tropics will find 
much to interest them in the Ancon Hospital Gardens. There 
have been collected specimens of not only the usual trees, plants, 
shrubs, fruits, nuts and roots, but also unusual specimens not 
generally found in botanical gardens. 

BALBOA HILL. 

Balboa Hill is the highest point in the Canal Zone. Its ele- 
vation is not great, but the rough and winding trail, closely 
encompassed by the jungle, the grade — steep in places — and the 
humid atmosphere, all assist in making its ascent quite a task. 

The trail starts from Gorgona. One can use the native pony 
or go on foot. In either case, prepare for mud and water. Dur- 
ing the dry season it is little more than the bed of a "wash" — 
wet, muddy and slippery. During the rainy season the trail is 
likely to be a torrent. 

The distance is called five miles. One who has plenty of 
strength and is accustomed to exercise can reach the top of the 
hill in an hour and a half. 

When Balboa was on his mission of discoveries, he was told 
by his guides of a great water lying to the south that could be 
seen from a certain peak. After encountering many difficulties, 
hostile Indians and a more hostile jungle, with its close growth 
and swamps and rough hills, he was able to reach the summit. 
It is said in order to obtain the honor for himself only, he 



The Canal Zone. 77 



BALBOA HILL— (Cont'd). 

ordered his men to remain in the rear and he advanced for the 
first view alone. 

The summit of the hill is crowned by one of the surveying 
platforms which the engineers have placed on each of the prom- 
inent hills for markers. This platform is probably thirty feet 
high. 

If the sky is free from clouds, the Pacific Ocean can be seen 
in the southeast at two points, one on each side of Ancon Hill, 
about eighteen miles away. One can look to the right of Ancon 
Hill, to the coast and out over Panama Bay and see the Islands, 
truly a beautiful sight. To the left of Ancon Hill can be seen a 
part of Panama City, and this view extends on out to where the 
vessels ride at anchor. 

The Atlantic coast is probably thirty miles away, but one 
can see Colon harbor and watch the ships passing in and out. If 
the air is unusually clear, quite a length of coast line is visible. 
But it should be remembered that clear weather on each coast is 
necessary, and he is lucky who is successful in the choice of the 
day for his view. 

The trip is worth while for many things besides the view. 
The experience in the jungle, with its varied vegetation, birds, 
and possibly animals, will interest the observer. 

The native, in traveling the trail, whistles before passing 
around a bend "to scare snakes and other varments out of the 
path." On all sides are tall trees hidden by dense growth of 
vines. Your guide will call these "Snake Trees" and will prob- 
ably tell you how snakes crawl into these vine-covered trees to 
sleep in the comparatively cooler location. If snakes dwell in 
the mind, probably one soon cannot tell the difference between 
vines and snakes. 

The trail of the black ants, broad,, hard highways, will cross 
the path. Along one side of this trail will be a continuous pro- 
cession of pieces of leaves. Examine and you will see the body 
of the ant laborer carrying off the "greens" for future food. On 
the other side of the highway, as big and as rapidly traveling, is 
a procession of big black fellows returning for another load. 
This path can be traced for a long distance on each side of the 
trail, and if the two trails are compared the hard packed one 
traveled by the ant will be looked upon with envy by the explorer 
who is laboring along through the muck and wash of the so-called 
trail of civilization. 

A dissertation on the surroundings of this trail could include 
all there is to tell of the natural life of the Zone. If you make the 
trip, keep your eyes and your brain busy and you will return well 
satisfied that you made the excursion and will be fully ready to 
advise others not to undertake its difficulties. 



78 



Panama — Part II. 




Triangulation Tower on Balboa Hill. 
(From this platform, a view of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans may be had.) 



The Canal Zone. 79 



CAMACHA DAM AND RESERVOIR. 

Camacha Dam and Reservoir are located one and one-half 
miles south of Empire. 

They are easily reached from that point, and will well re- 
pay persons who care to walk that distance. 

They are connected with Empire by a narrow-gauge rail- 
road. One who walks along the path between the rails is hedged 
in by the jungles, and can study nature at close range and from 
a secure footing. 

The reservation is in charge of a superintendent, who has a 
home and its contents furnished him by the Commission. 

The view at the lake is worth the small effort needed to take 
one to that point. 

This trip can be made in half a day, altho an entire day 
might be fully occupied, and profitably and pleasantly employed. 
The trip is one which commends itself to the careful considera- 
tion of the younger students of natural history, and can be safely 
undertaken by family parties, without any excessive fatigue or 
the expenditure of more than ordinary effort. 

Caution. — No trip away from the beaten thoroughfares of 
the cities and into the surrounding country should be taken 
unless accompanied by some one well informed as to local condi- 
tions. 

LAS CASCADES COCOA AND RUBBER PLANTATION. 

A good road, very attractive for a driver, a horseback rider, 
or even a good walker, leads to this plantation. It is located five 
miles up the Las Cascades valley, across the Canal from Empire 
in a northeasterly direction. 

This plantation, containing one hundred thousand acres, was 
located here by an English company, who built and furnished a 
fine manorial establishment for its superintendent and for the 
entertainment of its guests. But differences among its stock- 
holders caused the management to become lax, and the plantation 
fell into bad repair, the cocoa pods falling to the ground and 
wasting, and the rubber trees receiving no attention. It has been 
planned to repair the damages and put the property on a paying 
basis. 

Strange birds and flowers and plant-life surround you. 

Along the road to the plantation, one has an opportunity to 
study the vegetation of the Zove, from the delicate, sensitive 
plant that spreads over the earth and curls up at even the ap- 
proach of a cane or umbrella, to the tall, straight cotton trees 
that are used for cayucas. or native dugout boats. 

You may meet the charcoal burner, who camps on the hill- 
side where the hard wood grows and who burns it under damp- 



80 Panama— Part II. 



ened earth, and sells the charcoal to the housekeepers in the 
Canal Zone for cooking purposes. He lives in the open, directly 
exposed to sun and rain, and knows nothing of cleanliness nor 
sanitation. He drinks at any stream and wonders why the white 
man will not do the same. He seems to be immune from all 
troubles and probably will remain so unless civilization overtakes 
him and forces him to take a bath. 

THE MOUTH OF THE CHAGRES RIVER. 

If you wish to get close to nature's heart, as exemplified by 
this section of old mother earth, go to Gatun ; get a native boat- 
man, choosing boat and boatman for the occasion and taking 
every precaution for safety in boat and boat power. Drop down 
the river with such speed — or lack of it — as you desire, to its 
mouth, a distance in a straight line of eight miles, which you 
will probably find more than doubled by the curves and bends. 
Here you can not only knock at nature's door but can even enter 
and make yourself at home. The river is sluggish in its current, 
as the fall is only ten feet to the Caribbean's shore, and there 
should be very little more labor returning against its current than 
in floating with it. 

On this trip you will see the animal and vegetable life of the 
tropics at first hand. Along the line of the Canal, the monkeys, 
deer and other wild animals have been frightened away by the 
advent of man and his explosives. Not so by this river route. 
Here you carry civilization with you in your boat; you'll find 
none along the route. Where the river in years ante-dating the 
railroad was alive with the passage of boats from Ft. Lorenzo 
to the point where the trail left the river for Panama City, now 
no one is seen unless it possibly be a stray boatman like yourself 
on a trip of exploration. 

Here will be strange sights and sounds worthy a live per- 
son's attention. But listen to a word of caution : decide to take 
this trip on your own responsibility, and hold this book in no 
way liable for results. Wild animals, and snakes, and strange 
birds, and insects, and vegetation, and swamps, and snags, and 
alligators, etc., may be pleasant to read about, but not so pleas- 
ant in the experience. Do not go on this line of exploitation 
without counting the possible cost. Then if you decide in the 
affirmative, here is hoping you have complete success in the expe- 
rience, and are ready to declare on your return how glad you 
are that you went, but that you wouldn't recommend the trip to 
anyone else. 

THE TRAIL OF THE GOLD HUNTERS. 

Upon the discovery of gold in California in 1849, the route 
of many gold hunters to the new Eldorado was by water to the 



The Canal Zone. 81 



THE TRAIL OF THE GOLD HUNTERS— (Cont'd). 

Isthmus of Panama, across the Isthmus and up the Pacific coast 
to San Francisco. 

Before the old city of Panama was destroyed by Morgan and 
his buccaneers, the road across the Isthmus was from Porto 
Bello — some twenty miles east of the present city of Colon — by 
water to the mouth of the Chagres River, thence up that river 
by boat to the town of Las Cruces. This town was located two 
miles up the Chagres River beyond where the Canal leaves that 
river and enters Culebra Cut. From Las Cruces to the old city 
of Panama was the highway known as "The Royal Road to Pan- 
ama." (See page 82.) 

In 1849, the town of Aspinwall was located where the pres- 
ent town of Colon now is and Porto Bello thereafter steadily lost 
importance as a sea-port. Aspinwall was the Atlantic sea-port 
used by the gold hunters and was the point from which the Pan- 
ama railroad extended toward the Pacific. Before the railroad 
was completed, transportation was by means of boat from Aspin- 
wall along the coast northward to the mouth of the Chagres River. 
Small boats were used to ascend t?ie windings of that stream 
up to and through the Gatun hills and over the Black Swamp to 
the old Spanish town of Las Cruces. The river boats used on the 
Chagres were broad and flat bottomed and were poled up the 
river by naked natives. The further distance of eighteen miles 
by road over the Continental Divide brought the traveler to the 
city of Panama. One method of transportation over this trail 
for women and children was to ride in a chair strapped on the 
back of some stalwart native. Having reached Panama City, 
days, and at times weeks, of uncertainty were spent before pas- 
sage could be secured for San Francisco. 

When one remembers the old time sailing vessel on the At- 
lantic crowded to its limits, the men, women and children that 
were forced to camp on deck because of inadequate facilities, the 
hard and dangerous river route of the Chagres with its accom- 
paniment of swamps, jungles, pestiferous insects, heat and flood, 
the land journey to Panama City, another crowded vessel on the 
Pacific, with its long and uncertain voyage, — then one has 
brought to mind more strongly than ever before what the "lure 
of the gold" means. , 

One must also remember that aside from the usual dangers 
and privations, the Gulf of Panama is most uncertain for sailing 
vessels. This ocean is well named "the Pacific," for during long 
periods of time, there are calms during which a sailing-vessel can 
make no headway. It is recorded that Pizarro at one time lost 
seventy days in beating around the gulf in his boat trying to get 
out into the ocean and then, becoming discouraged, returned to 
Panama. The pilot books instruct the navigator who depends on 



82 Panama— Part II. 



THE TRAIL OF THE GOLD HUNTERS--(Cont'd). 

sails to make his best efforts to go south if he would go north, 
for he must sail south across the "Line," as the equator is called 
by sailors, and then proceed west along the course of prevailing 
winds into the ocean, before he can turn the prow of his ship 
northward with any assurance of success. The commanders of 
steamships are recommended, as far as possible, to take the shore 
route, thereby receiving an advantage of two or three knots per 
hour from the assistance of prevailing sea currents. 

Since steam has become the motive power, the troubles of 
the navigator have been reduced. A steamship can proceed where 
it will. All difficulties have given away before the steady ad- 
vance of science and perseverance and the traveler can now settle 
himself aboard his ship, among all the comforts of home. He can 
sail from his home port over the seas, through the land and over 
the seas again, and know little of, and probably care much less 
for, the dangers and discomforts of the pioneers who "blazed the 
way." 

CRUCES TRAIL. 
(The Royal Road from Cruces to Panama City.) 

Las Cruces is a small town located on the Chagres River two 
miles northeast of the crossing of the railroad. 

The "Royal Road to Panama" left the river at that point go- 
ing overland to the last named city. It is probable that this trail 
was used as early as 1530, and was in general use by 1537. 

This is possibly the oldest road in America. It was paved 
with rock but contained no bridges. 

This was the route over which all the treasure from Panama 
was brought on its way for trans-shipment to Spain at Porto 
Bello. 

When the treasure fleets ceased to call at Porto Bello in 1738, 
this trail was abandoned. It was revived during the gold excite- 
ment of California. 

Having since been rebuilt by the government, one may now 
ride over the same trail, but be sure to obtain a guide who is 
familiar with its conditions and also have the guide vouched for 
by some one of reliability. 

ANCON HILL. 

To a reasonably sturdy person the ascent of this hill will be 
a pleasure, both because of the exercise and of the view from the 
summit of the hill. 

The path leads up from the Panama City side, on past the 
water reservoir to the summit; and half a day will serve your 



The Canal Zone. 83 



ANCON HILL— (Cont'd). 

purpose. Take your field glasses. From the top the view in- 
cludes the Bay of Panama with all its many islands — their beauty 
heightened by the romance of their history. From the extreme 
east, the coast can be traced from beyond the ruins of old Panama 
City back past them, to and around the new city, past the base 
of the hill on which you stand to the entrance of the Canal, and 
along the coast until it disappears in the hazy western distance. 
The course of the Canal across the Isthmus can be followed by 
the eye from the Pacific ocean to the Miraflores locks and the 
mountains at Culebra can be seen. With the help of the map, 
on page 24, one can locate and name many of the peaks of the 
Zone. 

The immense quarries of Ancon Hill supplied the rock for 
the. concrete of the locks at this end of the Canal. The top of 
the hill is surmounted by the usual signal flag of the surveyors. 

Ancon Hill takes part in the general plan for the fortification 
of the Pacific entrance to the Canal. Large guns are placed 
here, and it is the purpose of the government to make this hill 
practically impregnable. 

TABOGA ISLAND. 

What by many is considered the most pleasant excursion on 
the Canal Zone is the trip to Taboga Island. This island is 
located nine miles south of the city. Its highest elevation is 
935 feet. It is well cultivated and has a large village on its 
northeast side. The pineapples grown on this island have more 
than local fame. The Canal Commission has a large sanitarium 
here and the climate and pleasant surroundings all combine to 
add to its attractiveness. 



CHILIBRILLO RIVER CAVERNS. 

Extensive limestone caverns have been found near the Cha- 
gres River about two miles east of the Canal Zone boundary line. 



Panama — Part 11. 





(1) Street in a Native Village. 
(2) Ruins at Old Panama City. 



The Republic of Panama. 85 



(C) 

FACTS CONCERNING THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA. 

Panama (Indian, "abounding in fish"). 

Located between 7° and 9° 50' north latitude, and between 
77° and 83° west longitude. 

Four hundred and twenty-five miles long. 
Seventy miles wide. 

Declared independence from Spain in 1821. 
Joined the republic of Granada shortly afterwards. 
Republic of Granada became republic of Colombia. 
Withdrew from Colombia and joined New Granada. 
Became part of the United States of Colombia in 1863. 
Declared independence November 3, 1903. 
****** 

To understand the status of the republic of Panama, sub- 
sequent to the time when it was a part of the United States of 
Colombia, a short resume of its political history is appropriate. 

As in all impoitant subjects, in this there are wide differ- 
ences of opinion among the interested parties. 

Previous to 1903, the state of Panama was a part of the 
United States of Colombia. On that date the inhabitants of 
Panama declared their independence. Colombia sent its troops 
to attempt to subjugate the revolters, but for various reasons 
were not successful. In the meantime, a republic was declared 
and Panama took her place among the nations of the earth and 
began to do business. 

The Colombian government holds that she has claims against 
Panama and that she should have them recognized. The treaty 
between the United States of America and Panama provides 
that the United States shall protect Panama against invasion, 
— consequently, Colombia has her claim. 

The claim on the Panaman side of the controversy is that 
Panama was an individual country temporarily in the federa- 
tion of the United States of Colombia and that when it desired 
to retire from that partnership, it had that right. 

The United States of America seems to take the stand that, 
while she has nothing to do with the controversy, she does have 
the right, and it is her duty, to keep the right-of-way of the 
Canal open. 

Naturally, with the United States of America between the 
contestants, there can not be much of a fight. 

The republic of Panama saw no reason for assuming any 
portion of the United States of Colombia's national debt. There- 
fore it entered the house of nations debt-free. 

The money received from the United States of America for 
the Canal concession is invested in New York real estate. 



86 Panama — Part II. 



Panama will also receive $250,000 per year from the United 
States of America, beginning nine years after the sale of the 
concession, as per the terms of their treaty. This payment 
continues to perpetuity. So it would seem that the republic of 
Panama need never fear poverty. 

The elections are fair to all political parties, because super- 
vised when necessary by the United States of America, 

The principal cities are : Panama City, the capital, — Colon, 
second city in size, — and David City. 

VEGETATION. 

No extended study of the vegetation of the Isthmus had been 
made up to the time of arrival of the United States interests. 
All the products of the tropical zone are possible. The surface 
of the Republic is as varied as the larger sections of any country, 
consisting of mountain chains, and valleys, and level lands called 
"savannahs" (meadows). It is rich in natural resources, and 
with capital and brains much could be accomplished. 

A partial list of possibilities in vegetation would include: 
Pineapples, Cocoa, Rubber, Coffee, Cocoanuts, Citrus fruits, 
Vanilla, Sarsaparilla, Indigo, Plantain, Bamboo, Guava, Mango, 
Pawpaw, Bananas (yellow and red), Alligator Pears, Oranges 
(sweet and sour), Pipeas, Soursap, Avacadoes, Chaijotes, Indian 
C)orn, Cassava, Yams, Tobacco, Sugar Cane, Rice, Breadfruit, 
Brazil Nuts, Ivory Nuts. Among the trees are the Mahogany, 
Cabinet woods, Cocobolo, Lignum vitae, Cork wood. Dye woods. 
Calabash. Flowers are of brilliant colors and little odor. Few 
have been classified. A nettle called "cow nettle" that stings the 
flesh in a very exasperating, though not a dangerous, manner is 
found in the jungle. 

Orchids. 

Thousands of species of orchids are found all through the 
jungle. The following is but a short list of those which can be 
seen in a day's stroll: Noah's Ark, Sacred Orchid, Sampson's 
Needle, Honey Bee, Dragon Fly, Forest Queen, Bride of Christ, 
Annunciation, Tears of the Virgin, Seventh Besetting Sin. 

MANGROVES. 

A small tree that fringes the semi-salt shores of tropical 
countries. Branches are sent out from the parent stem and the 
other branches, and curve to the ground and take root, con- 
tinuing this method ad infinitum. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The general custom in Panama for those desiring to farm 
has been to take possession of the land and clear it and begin to 



The Republic of Panama. 87 

cultivate. The method was very primitive. The "farmer" would 
scratch the surface with a machete or stick and plant corn, 
yams, cassava, plantains, bananas, and other fruits and vege- 
tables. 

In the Canal Zone, during the construction of the Canal, 
many laborers "took to the brush." This was not encouraged 
by the Zone government, and it will probably take possession 
of the complete Zone, possibly letting it m the main relapse again 
into jungle since that, in a way, is a good defense against out- 
side military operations. 

INHABITANTS. 

As in all Central America, caste governs society. The edu- 
cated and cultured and wealthy govern the poor and ignorant. 

The natives are as much of a mixture of all shades of color 
and line of descent as is possible, and are poor, ignorant and of 
little consequence except as laborers. Their stature is short, the 
average height being at least a foot shorter than among the 
inhabitants of the temperate zones. 

They are normally care-free and happy, and holidays and 
evenings are given over to social interchanges. Music is a part 
of their life. They have their national theaters and bands and 
the Sunday evening concert in the city plaza or park is the society 
event of the week. They are inveterate gamblers and they will 
spend their all for a lottery ticket or wager it on their favorite 
in a cock fight. 

Many of the old Spanish families are of the purest Castilian 
descent and have held the strain unalloyed through all the years. 

HUNTING. 

There is good sport on the Isthmus, although probably of 
unusual character. If desiring to engage in this pastime, first 
prepare yourself by engaging a reliable guide, and acquaint your- 
self with the laws of the Isthmus concerning firearms. 

Alligator hunting is a favorite pastime, notwithstanding the 
fact that thousands of alligators, as well as other game, have 
been forced away from localities near the Canal by explosives 
used in its construction. There are men on the Zone who make 
a specialty of alligator hunting. 

A drop down the Chagres in one of the cayucas or native 
boats from Catun toward the river's mouth, or up from Las 
Cruces, or along the coast and up any of the other rivers, will 
be pretty sure to furnish you with good hunting. 

The deer and hogs are small in size in the tropics, but other 
animals are larger. Tapirs weighing more than one thousand 
pounds b^ye been killed, and snakes grow large and are of great 
length, 



88 



Panama — Part II. 




Alligator Hunting on the Chepo Rivor. (1) Landing the Game. 
(2) Counting the Spoils. (3) Beheading the 'Gators. 



The Republic of Panama. 89 



HUNTING— (Cont'd). 

Of all the sports of the Isthmus none will give the man with 
the full-grown desire for game in his system more satisfaction 
than alhgator hunting. While alligators and crocodiles are found 
in abundance in all Panaman streams, yet the easiest and most 
satisfactory way will probably be to start from Panama City, 
going along the coast by launch ten or twenty miles, then entering 
some river, where the desired game will be found. Any good 
shooting gun will do, but a soft-nosed bullet is almost a necessity. 
The small, steel-coated bullet will enter the game and pass 
through and come out beyond, doing little damage, while the soft- 
nosed bullet works differently. It enters and then seems to cause 
an explosion of its own inside the brute, which results in the 
death of the animal. 

The accompanying pictures will show the success of a recent 
hunting trip. The party left Panama City in a launch at night, 
arriving in the Chepo River and going on to Alligator Creek, one 
of its affluents. The arrival was made by early day-break, and 
the sport began at once. Members of the hunting party wallowed 
ashore through mud hip-deep, while others remained in the 
launch. 

A small, black object would be discovered floating along on 
the surface of the water. A bullet placed in it would cause a 
turmoil in the black, muddy water, resulting in a rope being 
thrown over the subsequently quiet body and the 'gator would be 
pulled ashore. Their teeth make desirable mementoes. (In the 
picture note the dead parrot placed on the alHgator's nose.) 



PANAMA HATS. 

The so-called Panama hat is made from the fibre of the 
bamboo. The seat of its manufacture is in Ecuador, and it 
gets its name from Panama City, that being its original port 
of export. 

Good Panama hats are almost as expensive on the Isthmus 
as in Northern localities. While hats can be purchased for as 
little as $5.00 or $10.00 gold, the native Spaniard will hardly 
consider one that is purchased at a less expense than $25.00 or 
$50.00 gold. 

CHIRIQUI HATS. 

The Chiriqui (pronounced "Cherokee" in English) hat is 
the original, bona fide, simon pure, Panama hat, since it is made 
by the Chiriqui Indians of the province of Chiriqui, in the west- 
em part of the republic of Panama. 



90 Panama — Part II. 



The Chiriqui hat is also made from the fibre of the bamboo, 
but the fibre is coarser. This hat usually has black bands woven 
in it. If woven by an Indian maiden, the circle formed by the 
bands is left incomplete, thereby proclaiming her state of single 
blessedness. If woven by a married woman, the circle is finished 
— an indication that her connubial bliss is, or should be, com- 
plete. 

Chiriqui hats are worn by many of the watermen along the 
coast. They are light and cool ; and can be gotten for one or two 
dollars, gold, and make a very satisfactory and useful souvenir. 



OLD PANAMA CITY AND ITS DESTRUCTION. 

The ruins of old Panama City lie just outside of the Canal 
Zone on the coast northeast of the present modern city, and may 
be seen from the sea front. A trip to its location will be inter- 
esting — it can be made easily under the care of a competent 
guide. 

The old city of Panama was founded about the year 1520 
and was destroyed in 1671 by Morgan and his buccaneers. At 
the time of its destruction it was a city of some 30,000 inhabit- 
ants, important and wealthy. It was a great depot for gold 
and silver from Peru. It had eight monasteries, a cathedral, 
churches, hospital, two hundred richly furnished houses and sev- 
eral thousand lesser homes. It had a chamber of commerce and 
its business occupied two hundred warehouses. 

After three weeks of rapine by Morgan and his men, the 
remains of the city were burned. [See page 60.] 

After its destruction the new city was built by the sur- 
vivors, six miles west, on a peninsula, as an added safeguard 
against a repetition of their misfortune. 

Points of Interest in and Around Panama City. 

Cathedral Plaza, between Fifth and Sixth Streets on Cen- 
tral Avenue. 

Bolivar Plaza, between Third and Fourth Streets on Ave- 
nue B. 

National Square at the extreme point of the peninsula at 
east end of Avenue A. The prison is located here and an anti- 
quated cannon points out over the bay. 

National Palace and Theater, at Third and Central Avenue. 

Market, at Eleventh Street and Central Avenue. 

Herrare Plaza, at Avenue A and South Ninth Street. 

Plaza, at Twelfth Street and Central Avenue. 

Old steamboat wharf, at the Market, from where the '49ers 
took ship for California. 



The Republic of Panama. 91 

Points of Interest In and Around Panama City — (Cont'd). 

A walk around the sea wall will not be amiss, and will be 
found to be very interesting-. 

Visit the Cathedral at Seventh and Central. It was founded 
in 1760 and has the highest spire in Central America. This 
spire was used by the surveyors as one of the primary points, in 
conjunction with the lighthouse at Colon and the summit of 
Balboa Hill, in establishing the line of the Canal. 

De Lesseps' headquarters, later the old Panama Lottery 
headquarters, facing the Plaza. 

Visit the Chinese gardens on the low ground west of the 
city. 

Cemeteries on East Balboa Road. 

Climb Ancon Hill. (See page 82.) 

Go to the old city of Panama. (See page 90.) 

View the Savannahs (level meadows), a short distance in 
the country. 

Spend a half day "on the Beach at Panama." (See page 93.) 

If possible, spend a Sunday evening in the Plaza listening 
to the National band concert and watching the "milling" of the 
audience. 

The oldest church in Panama is San Felipe Neri, founded 
in 1688. 

The ruins of the church of St. Dominic contain the famous 
flat arch, a single span of sixty feet, almost horizontal. Legend 
says it was successfully placed by a miracle after several fail- 
ures. The fact that it is yet standing after so many years is 
pointed to as proof of the absence of severe earthquake shocks 
in this locality. 

THE MODERN PANAMA CITY. 

After the destruction of the old citv of Panama bv Moreran 
and his men [see page 60], those left of the occupants located 
their new town on a small peninsula six or eight miles west. 
This peninsula was well protected on the three sea sides of its 
rocky shore, upon which the inhabitants built a sea wall, which 
still remains, while across the land side was built a rampart 
forty feet high and sixty feet broad, which has since fallen into 
rums. The new city in time filled the available ground and was 
forced onto the level country beyond. 

At the present time Panama City contains some 35,000 
inhabitants. It is the capital of the republic of Panama, and is 
the seat of the culture and refinement of the Republic, as well 
as its political capital. 



92 Panama — Part II. 



THE MODERN PANAMA CITY— (Cont'd). 

The houses are of stucco, decorated with water paint of 
different bright colors; they are two or three stories in height 
and built so near the street line that there is scarcely room on 
the sidewalk for two persons to pass, while above the walks are 
the overhanging balconies from which, owing to the narrow 
streets, it seems almost possible to shake hands with one's neigh- 
bor across the way. 

The principal street is Central Avenue and it runs from 
the depot through the length of the whole city to the east sea 
wall. Two other streets. Avenue A on the south and Avenue B 
on the north, run parallel to Central Avenue. The cross, or 
north and south streets, are numbered streets, beginning with 
First Street at the east sea wall. 

If you desire, take a carriage ; first making a contract either 
by the hour or as to the locality. Try to get an English-speaking 
driver, thereby gaining a guide, as well as obtaining a carriage. 
A pleasant drive can be made from Panama City, passing to the 
right of Ancon Hill and driving to the Pacific entrance of 
the Canal at Balboa — returning by the road that passes be- 
tween the Hill and the beach. En route, notice the Chinese 
gardeners in their native costumes, their heads crowned by enor- 
mous sunshade hats, working in their truck patches. One can 
almost imagine himself passing along one of the highways of 
the Celestial Kingdom. After leaving Ancon Hill the road passes 
between the two old cemeteries. A visit to these burial places 
will be interesting. 

Distances in Panama City are not long and the street car 
may possibly answer every purpose, but remember in all bar- 
gaining, whether for a carriage or in the purchase of merchan- 
dise, to have it specified whether payment is intended to be in 
"gold" or "silver," as their ratio is two to one. Coach fares are 
posted in the carriage and almost any locality in the city's bound- 
ary may be reached for one fare — ten cents gold or twenty cents 
silver. Remember that a stop to shop or snap a kodak may cause 
the driver to consider the remainder of the ride a new trip, 
thereby adding to your expense. It is policy to avoid all strong 
differences of opinion in your transactions with the inhabitants, 
as the Panaman courts of justice seem at times to be easily 
entered and the result is not always pleasant to the sojourner 
within the gates. 

Panama City probably presents the best place on earth to 
study international life, for at this point all streams of travel 
converge. 

Panama City is unfortunate in her sea front from the view- 
point of wharfage facilities for large vessels. The extreme tide 
leaves the rocky bed of the harbor exposed during its ebb, al- 



The Republic of Panama. 



93 



though allowing vessels of small draft to approach quite close 
to shore during high tide. All large vessels are compelled to 
anchor out in the harbor and conduct their shore communication 
by means of small boats. 

The Panaman Government has appropriated a large sum of 
money to be expended in improving their harbor facilities. 




View of Panama Bay. 



-O 



On the Beach at Panama. 

One of the most pleasant little excursions can be made on 
foot from Panama City, going out past the depot and turning to 
the right to the beach and walking along it at your pleasure. 
The street railway traverses Central Avenue out past the Pan- 
ama Railroad depot. Get off at any road leading toward the 
beach. This is an ideal excursion for families, and, by taking 
lunch along, the entire day may be spent on the beach. 

The extreme tides of Panama Bay (over twenty feet), the 
sandy, shell-covered beach, the historical Panama Bay in the 
foreground, Panama City on the right, the ruins of old Panama 
City on the left, and the hills in the background, produce a pleas- 
ing panorama, and the traveler who visits this spot will carry 
away with him a picture which will remain long after many 
other scenes have faded from the memory. 

Standing on the beach a panoramic view of this historical 
spot is before the observer. Out in the bay may be seen the 
islands which form a part of the natural protection of the har- 
bor; to the right, on a peninsula extending into the bay, the 
modern Panama City spreads out before you, and beyond may 
be seen Ancon Hill. On the left the beach swings until it is 
beyond range of vision. 



94 



Panama — Part II. 




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The Republic of Panama. 95 



TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM PANAMA CITY. 

City Country Miles 

To Punta Arenas Costa Rica 456 

San Juan del Sur Nicaragua 612 

Corinto Nicaragua 718 

Amapala Honduras 781 

La Union San Salvador 802 

La Libertad San Salvador 906 

Acajutla San Salvador 944 

San Jose Guatemala 1,004 

Champerico Guatemala 1,080 

Ocos Guatemala 1,100 

San Benito Mexico 1,123 

Salina Cruz Mexico 1,305 

Acapulo V Mexico 1,593 

Manzanillo Mexico 1,744 

San Bias Mexico 1,910 

Mazatlan Mexico 2,035 

San Francisco United States 3,480 

Punta Arenas Strait of Magellan 3,750 

TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM COLON. 

To New York United States 1,917 

Punta Arenas Strait of Magellan 6,729 

Panama City Via Panama Canal 55 

Panama City Via Strait of Magellan 10,500 

MILES SAVED BY PANAMA CANAL. 

From United States Atlantic sea-board to United States 

Pacific sea-board 8,400 

Europe to United States Pacific sea-board 6,000 

United States Atlantic sea-board to South American 

Pacific sea-board 5,000 

Europe to South American Pacific sea-board 2,500 

New York to Japan 3,250 

New York to Australia 3,800 

New York to China 1,600 

New York to New Zealand 2,500 

Europe to New Zealand 1,600 

England to Australia 800 

UNCIVILIZED TRIBES. 

In spite of the many surprises with which the tourist is 
constantly confronted in the territory surrounding the Canal 
Zone, one would doubtless be amazed to find a race of people 
living in a primitive way. 



96 



Panama — Part II. 



UNCIVILIZED TRIBES— (Cont'd). 

Yet that is exactly what one will encounter in the San Bias 
Indians who inhabit the numerous islands that dot the Atlantic 
Coast line, and the mainland of the eastern end of the republic 
of Panama. 

The tribe is wholly uncivilized, the natives yet hunt with 
bow and arrow and the poisonous dart is their principal weapon 
of defense. 

They resent and resist the approach of strangers and are 
skillful and courageous fighters. They live in their primitive 
methods unmolested, almost within the shadow of one of the 
centers of greatest activity in the universe. 

Popular report has it that unlimited game exists in these 
parts and that gold literally "paves the beds of the streams," 
but if any civilized man was ever in a position to speak with 
certainty in regard to the fabulous wealth attributed, by rumor, 
to the San Bias Indian and his country, he doubtless took the 
knowledge with him to his grave. 




Map of Republic of Panama, Showing Gulf. 



The Pacific Coast. 97 



.^mmm^ 



PART III. 

FROM PANAMA CITY 

TO SAN FRANCISCO. 

(A Guide to the Pacific Coast.) 

(A) MARINE INFORMATION. 

(B) PACIFIC COAST COUNTRIES 

OF CENTRAL AND NORTH 
AMERICA. 



98 



Panama — Part III. 




AS THE SHIPS PASS IN THE NIGHT. 

Different colored lights are carried in the three principal 
parts of a ship to identify locations. Green and red lights are 
carried on the starboard and port sides respectively. Ihey are 
placed outside the ship at the height of the upper deck so that 
they will show both tore and aft. The white light is a mast- 
head light. 

The rules under which the crew of a vessel operate are 
summed up in the verses, printed for your convenience, below. 

If to my Starboard Red appear. 

It is my duty to keep clear. 

To act as judgment says is proper. 

To Port, or Starboard, Back, or Stop her. 

But when upon my Port is seen 
A steamer's Starboard light of Green, 
There's naught for me to do but see 
That Green to Port keeps clear of me. 

But in safety and in doubt, 
I always keep a good lookout. 
In danger, with no room to turn, 
I ease her. Stop her. Go astern. 

When all three lights I see ahead, 
I Port my helm, and show my Red. 
Green to Green, or Red to Red, 
Perfect safety — Go ahead. 



The Pacific Coast. 99 



(A) 

OCEAN ROUTES FROM PANAMA TO SAN FRANCISCO. 

Between the ports of Panama and San Francisco, there is 
a choice of two routes : 

(1) The all-sea route, in which the ship goes to sea and 
makes no intermediate stops. 

(2) The local passenger and freight carrying steamer, 
making regular ports en route. 

The Open Sea Route. 

On leaving Panama the steamer traveling this route passes 
to the open sea, only approaching the shore at points along the 
route of near approach to land. This route contains all the usual 
elements of a sea voyage, where the passenger may enter into 
the daily maritime life, going to bed and getting up by the sound 
of the ship's bell. If saving of time enters into the passenger's 
consideration, this route will appeal to his desires, for the time 
is about one-third that of the local or coast-wise route. Ten to 
twelve days will be consumed in the ocean voyage, and the views 
of land obtained, headland and mountain ranges and volcanoes, 
can be located from the maps and by reading the guide for the 
local route. Also views of certain mountains can be had from 
this route that cannot be obtained from the close-to-shore route. 
In the latter route the low near-coast ranges hide the higher 
interior mountains. 

With the exception of an occasional sight of land or of other 
vessels, the ship's company travels in a world of its own. 

In some ways this route is preferable: to one who desires 
to make time ; to one to whom two weeks at sea is long enough ; 
to one who does not care for the varying scenery of the coast, 
the peculiar experience resulting from the landings, the swells 
or the surf. 

After passing the southern end of lower California, these 
two routes are practically the same. 

The Shore Route. 

The time by this route would be probably four weeks, with 
a possible delay en route of one to five days, because of poor 
dockage at way ports, or bad weather. 

The voyager who has the time to spare, and the disposition 
to use it, cannot do better than to take passage by the shore 
route. Passing out of the Canal, the vessel steams through 
Panama Bay, with its ancient and romantic history now crowded 
out by the present active life. Where the sailing vessels of the 
buccaneers used to tack against adverse wands, or "lay to" wait- 
ing for favorable ones to waft them to newer conquests, the 



00 Panama— Part III. 



OCEAN ROUTES— (Cont'd). 

present steamer ''takes the bone in its teeth" and proceeds 
promptly on its way. 

This route passes along the shore line from the time of 
leaving Panama until arrival at San Francisco, seldom more 
than one or two miles distant from land ; in fact, hardly distant 
enough at sea to get views of the higher inland mountains. But 
the close view of the shore allows the passenger to distinguish 
the various local objects, and the kaleidoscopic changes of the 
landscape always provide entertainment. 

The varying scenery and the strange sights and experiences 
combine to enlarge the horizon of one's life, and the longer time 
consumed on this coast route would seem to be well spent. 

CHARACTER IN SAILING VESSELS. 

Ship, any large sea-going vessel, especially a vessel equipped 

with bowsprit and three masts and square rigged. 
Schooner, a sharp-built vessel with two, three or four masts, 

with fore and aft sails. 
Bark, a three-masted vessel having fore and main masts rigged 

as a ship and mizzen mast as a schooner. 
Barkentine, a three-mast vessel with foremast rigged like a ship 

main and mizzen like a schooner. 
Brig, a vessel with two masts, square rigged forward and 

schooner rigged aft. 
The Colors, Ensign, Flag, at stern. 

Jack, a small flag containing the union without the fly. 
Pennant, a long narrow piece of bunting carried at the mast 

head, usually contains the private sign of the company to 

which the ship belongs. 
FZa^, composed of "Union" (stars) and "Fly" (stripes). 

TERMS ON SHIPBOARD. 

Starboard ("Stabbard"), the right side of the ship. 

Port (formerly "larboard"), the left side of the ship. 

Quarterdeck, that part of a ship's deck extending from stem to 
mainmast. 

Forecastle, that part of the upper deck of vessel forward of the 
foremast. In merchant vessels the forward part, under deck 
where sailors live. 

Waist, that part of a ship between the quarter-deck and fore- 
castle. 

Poop, a deck raised above the after part of the spar deck, reach- 
ing forward to the mizzenmast. 

Hatchways, main and fore, openings in the deck for storing 
cargo. 



The Pacific Coast, 



TERMS ON SHIPBOARD— (Cont'd). 

Masts, (fore and aft) are foremast, mainmast and mizzenmast. 

Fore and Aft, from bow to stern. 

Binnacle, a box containing a ship's compass and a light to show 
it at night. 

Davits, arms projecting over side of ship, having tackle by which 
to raise or lower a small boat. 

Beam, the extreme width of the ship. 

Jacob's Ladder, rope ladder at side of ship. 

Lee, that point or side toward which the wind blows. 

Windward, that point or side from which the wind blows. 

Stay, a large, long rope to support a mast. 

Shrouds, large ropes leading to a mast. 

Ratlines, rounds forming the ladder between the shrouds. 

Bulkhead, a water-tight partition in a ship. 

Deadlight, a strong shutter for a cabin window to exclude water. 

Sextant, the sixth part of a circle ; an instrument for measuring 
angular distances between objects, especially for observing 
the altitude of celestial bodies in determining latitude and 
longitude at sea. 

Astrolabe, an instrument for taking the altitude of the sun or 
stars at sea. 

Ephemeris, an astronomical almanac. 

Freeboard, that portion of the side of a vessel or boat between 
the rail or gunwale and the water-line. 

Barometer, an instrument for determining the weight of the 
atmosphere, changes of weather or height of an ascent. 

Dead Ahead, directly ahead, as the direction of the wind. 

Dead Reckoning, method of determining a ship's position with- 
out celestial observation. 

THE SHIP'S OFFICERS. 

The Captain is in supreme command, representing the three 
departments of government — legislative, judicial and executive. 

The First Officer has charge of the handling of all cargo; 
also the cleanliness of the ship on deck, assisted by the Second 
and Third Officers, quartermasters, boatswains, carpenter and 
sailors. 

The Chief Engineer has charge of engine room and all 
machinery, assisted by First, Second and Third Engineers, oilers, 
water-tenders, firemen, and coal passers. 

The Purser has charge of the business end of the ship and 
is responsible for all stores, specie, correct receipt and delivery 
of cargo, and welfare of the passengers, assisted by freight clerk, 
stewards and waiters. He is also responsible for the baggage, 
but the direct handling is by the baggage clerk or the steerage 
steward. 



02 Panama— Part III. 



THE SHIP'S OFFICERS— (Cont'd). 

The Chief Steward has direct charge of all cooks, waiters, 
etc., and of all stateroom service. 

The Second and Third Mates at sea are on the bridge, and 
in port are in the holds looking after the safe handling of the 
cargo. 

The Second Mate is the navigating officer of all ships; he 
has charge of all clocks and chronometers and regulates the time 
by setting all clocks to the standard time of the port at which 
they are. 

The Doctor answers only to the Captain and is called when- 
ever needed. 

The quartermasters' duties consist chiefly of steering. They 
keep the bridge and pilot house clean. In port, they stand at 
the gangplank and see that no undesirables board the ship and 
that nothing is stolen. Most ships carry four quartermasters, 
and there are two on watch at a time. Entering port, they set 
the flags and then heave the lead. 

The boatswain is the mate's foreman. He receives his 
orders from the First Officer regarding all work to be done, 
and he assigns it to the sailors and sees that they do it. 

In case of the Captain's death, the First Officer takes charge. 



THE SHIP'S WATCHES. 

In the navigation of ships at sea, the twenty-four hours 
of the day are divided into what are termed watches. 

The names of the watches and their corresponding time 
are as follows: 

Afternoon watch 12:00 Noon to 4:00 p. m. 

First dog watch 4:00 p. m. to 6:00 p. m. 

Second dog watch 6:00 p. m. to 8:00 p. m. 

Midnight watch 8 :00 p. m. to 12 : 00 Midnight 

Middle, or Graveyard, watch.l2 :00 Midnight to 4 :00 a. m. 

Morning watch 4:00 a. m. to 8:00 a. m. 

Forenoon watch 8:00 a. m. to 12:00 Noon 

Statistics prove that more lives are lost at sea between the 
hours of midnight and 4 o'clock a. m. than during any other 
watch ; hence the name of this watch. 

The dog watch is what is called a split watch, being divided 
into two parts. If the natural order of the watches was followed, 
the same officer would go on watch at noon on each day. By 
splitting this watch, the officers alternate their watches on suc- 
ceeding days. 

One degree of longitude is equal to four minutes of time. 



The Pacific Coast. 103 



THE SHIP'S WATCHES— (Cont'd). 

Log, an apparatus for measuring a ship's progress through 
the water. It is composed of a small fan-shaped machine at- 
tached to a long line. It is placed in the water and the line 
played out until it drops the required distance astern. As the 
ship proceeds, the fan is revolved by the resistance of the water 
and the revolutions are numbered by the part of the instrument 
attached to the line and remaining on board the ship. 

Log book, a journal of the ship's progress, recording all 
matters of interest concerning the navigation of the ship and 
incidents of consequence aboard. 



THE LEAD LINE. 

Lead— (To Show the Way.) 

The lead is composed of the weight and the line attached 
to it. 

In na\igating the ship through difficult passages or over 
shoal localities, the lead is used for the purpose of measuring 
the depth of the water. 

There are two lead lines, the deep sea and the hand. The 
deep sea line is usually a small wire cable worked over a small 
wheel from the stern of the vessel. In shallow water the lead 
line is operated by hand. The quartermaster takes his place at 
the side of the vessel and throws the line, and his musical intona- 
tion, as the result is made known to the officer on the bridge, is 
one of the chief attractions of ship life. 

In the bottom of the lead is a cavity. ''Arming the lead" 
means placing tallow in this cavity to bring up specimens from 
the bottom of the water. In case of fogs or question of locality 
the nature of the bottom of the ocean assists the navigator to 
find his location. 

These tallow records are kept with the other records of the 
voyage and are carried into the home port as part of the evi- 
dence showing the course of the ship. The measurements on 
the lead line are marked off by different colored cord tied around 
it. The distance between the cords is one fathom (six feet) and 
each color of cord indicates a specific number of fathoms. Tak- 
ing soundings is called "heaving the lead." 

In the hand lead there are nine "marks" and eleven "deeps." 

The marks are 2-3-5-7-10-13-15-17-20 fathoms. 

The deeps are 1-4-6-8-9-11-12-14-16-18-19 fathoms. 

Seven fathoms are called "by the mark seven." 

Six fathoms are called "by the deep six." 

Five and three-quarters fathoms are called "and a quarter 
less six." 



04 Panama — Part III. 



THE LEAD LINE— (Cont'd). 

Five and one-half fathoms are called "and a half five." 
Five and one-quarter fathoms are called "and a quarter 
five." 

Two fathoms are called "by the Mark Twain" — hence the 
name by which the lamented American humorist-author and 
ex-pilot is known all over the English-speaking world. 

NAUTICAL LANGUAGE. 

Forward, instead of "up front." 

Aft, instead of "out back." 

Below, instead of "down stairs." 

On deck, instead of "up stairs." 

Avast, to stop. 

Bearing, direction. 

Betiveen wind and loater, at the water's edge. 

Belay, to make fast, as with a rope; to stop. 

Cleiu, to draw up to a yard as a sail. 

Flow, the tidal setting in of water from ocean to shore. 

Ehh, to flow back to the ocean. 

Abeam, on the beam, at right angles to the keel. 

List, thrown off of center, as by the shifting of the cargo. 

BOXING THE COMPASS. 

Can you box the compass? 

Here are the thirty-two points. Commit them to memory 
so that they can be recited as fast as the tongue can travel : 
North, nor' by east, nor'-nor'-east, nor'-east by north, north- 
east, nor'-east by east, east-nor'-east, east by north, east, 
east by south, east-sou'-east, sou'-east by east, south-east, 
sou'-east by south, sou'-sou'-east, south by east, south, 
south by west, sou'-sou'-west, sou'-west by south, south- 
west, sou'-west by west, west-sou'-west, west by south, 
west, west by north, west nor'-west, nor'-west by west, 
north-west, nor'-west by north, nor'-nor'-west, north by 
west, north. 

MARINE ITEMS OF INTEREST. 

5,280 feet one statute mile. 

6,080 feet one nautical mile. 

6,080.66 feet one statute knot, or 

60 knots in one degree, and 

360 degrees in a circle of the earth, or 

21,600 knots in a circle of the earth, or 

131,385,456 feet in the circumference of the earth. 



The Pacific Coast. 105 



WIRELESS EQUIPMENT ABOARD SHIP. 

Under the United States marine law, ocean-going ships 
are required to carry wireless telegraphic apparatus capable of 
transmitting and receiving messages within a radius of at least 
one hundred miles. 

This law applies to any passenger-carrying, ocean-going 
steamer carrying fifty or more persons, including passengers 
and crew, calling at American ports. 

Each ship is required to carry an operator holding a cer- 
tificate issued by the government. This operator must be able 
to receive messages at a speed of at least twenty words a minute. 
He must pass a rigid examination. 

Exception is made in the case of steamers plying between 
ports not more than two hundred miles apart. 

The Weather Bureau of the United States receives daily 
reports concerning the weather conditions from the masters of 
most of the North and Central American ships. The informa- 
tion so accumulated is of much value in making up the forecast 
of weather conditions along the Atlantic and Gulf coast lines. 

FIRE DRILL ABOARD SHIP. 

The United States navigation laws compel the fire drill on 
shipboard while at sea at least once per week. 

The passengers are usually notified before the alarm, to 
prevent unnecessary excitement; but the crew is supposed to be 
caught unprepared. The ship's big bell clangs, the whistle blows 
and the members of the crew rush to their places. The captain 
is on the bridge, and the first officer is in charge of the deck. 
Each boat is in charge of an officer and the hosemen go to their 
stations. Water is turned on and the decks are quickly awash. 

One man climbs into the life boat hanging at the davits and 
passes out the life belts, which are put on by the boat crew. 
These small boat crews are of a very picturesque and motley 
composition. Stokers, sailors, stewards and roustabouts all fall 
into their stations in just the state of wardrobe in which the 
alarm finds them. 

When all boats signify their readiness, the first officer noti- 
fies the crew of the boat that is to continue the drill. The ropes 
of this boat are unfastened, and it is dropped to the deck level 
ready, if necessary, to take its load of passengers. 

After the captain is satisfied with the drill, a signal is blown 
by the big whistle; everything is made shipshape again, the indi- 
viduals return to their duties and the drill is over. 

Under a section of the United States marine laws, one 
minute is allowed from the time of the fire alarm for water 
to be thrown from the hose, and two minutes are allowed for 
the lifeboat to be in the water. 



06 Panama — Part III. 



SCOPE OF VISION AT SEA. 

The distance at which an object at sea may be seen varies 
according to elevation, clearness of air, and intensity of illumi- 
nation, but is about as indicated in the following table: 

Height in 
feet 



5. 

10. 
15. 
25. 
50. 



Distance 


Height in 


Distance 


in m.les 


feet 


in miles 


2.6 


75 


10 


3.75 


100 


11.5 


4.5 


200 


16 


5.75 


500 


26 


8.5 


One mile. . . . 


95 



Seven inches in height is allowed for the curvature of the 
earth in one mile. 

A SHORT TREATISE ON ASTRONOMY. 

In the lone watches of the night, whether one is at the camp 
fire of the plains or on the bridge of the ship at sea, the stars 
speak a language of their own to the one who can understand, 
just as they did those many hundreds of years ago when "The 
mornmg stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted 
for joy." Ever since men began to "go down into the sea in 
ships," the stars have been their steadfast friends, always on 
watch and always in the self-same place. 

The navigator's first act on stepping into his watch, even 
before examining his compass, is to glance at the heavens, locat- 
ing himself with the assistance of the stars, and also possibly 
offering a quiet greeting to some particular constellation that 
he has claimed for his allegiance for lo, these many years. 

The quiet hours of the camp fire ashore or the great solitude 
of the night watch on the ship bring the stars down near the 
earth and they become companions and will remain so during 
all the succeeding years. In new and distant localities they 
change their apparent relation to each other, and succeeding 
months bring new, yet old, stars ; but one year hence the same 
star wUl be seen in the same place in the heavens where it is 
tonight — its location unchanged through ages in the past will 
remain unchanged in the ages to come. 

To a person who has been accustomed to study the stars 
from the north temperate zone, many interesting changes and 
remarkable differences will be noticed in the various constella- 
tions and grounings of stars when viewed from the tropics, and 
unless the reader has kept in touch with the nightly change that 
has occurred in the heavens during his progress southward, he 
will possibly have difficulty in recognizing old star-friends. 

The North Star will lie close to the northern horizon scarcely 
eight degrees high, as the Isthmus is between seven and eight 



The Pacific Coast. 107 



A SHORT TREATISE ON ASTRONOMY— (Cont'd). 

degrees north latitude. New stars and new constellations have 
made their appearances in the Southern sky and old friends 
among the stars and constellations have changed their faces 
until they also seem to be strangers, and the combination of 
local environments will apparently have brightened them. 

If you have chosen that best time of the year, the winter 
season, for your trip, you will see the greatest and strongest 
star-effects. Orion, with its multitude of worlds, excels all other 
constellations in its beauty. Sirius, more than twice the largest 
star in the heavens, blazes in its glory. A new star, Canopus, 
second only to Sirius, has made its appearance, and when seen 
on the horizon has been mistaken for the light in a light-house ; 
a Centauri and b Centauri are prominently bright, the second 
star being, of all stars, the nearest to our earth. While excelling 
all in prominence and interest and romance and beauty is the 
world-famed Southern Cross, with its four stars set in a dia- 
mond. The lower star is of the first magnitude, the east and 
north stars of the second and the west star of the third magni- 
tude. This constellation can be first seen from the latitude of 
middle Florida, or the upper portion of lower California. 

To the west of the Southern, or "True Cross," is the "False 
Cross." It resembles the "True Cross" in that it is formed by 
four stars set in a diamond as is the first, but the diamond is 
one-half larger in size. 

When the study of stars was in its infancy, to get a footing 
to use as a means of comparison, the brightest star was said to 
be of the first magnitude and the less bright ones second, third, 
etc. But continued research introduced brighter stars. As the 
less bright stars were classed by numbers, making a second mag- 
nitude star less in size that the first, the larger stars were forced 
to continue the arithmetical progression downward, making a 
star larger than the first magnitude read smaller in ratio to its 
brightness. 

This makes the understanding of the magnitude of the larger 
stars somewhat difficult to any but the professional mind. When 
one reads the magnitude of Capella is 0.2, it is diflicult to under- 
stand it is almost double a first magnitude star in brightness, 
and when the reader goes on to Sirius with a magnitude of 
— 1.6 he has to use pencil and paper to find how bright that 
star really is. 

Appended is a list of the stars ranging above first magni- 
tude. + indicates the position of the star in north latitude, 
and — the position in south latitude; as Vega, -f38-42' means 
that star is over that north latitude, while Rigel, — 8 ^^8' means 
that star is in that location south latitude. 



08 



Panama — Part III. 



STARS OF LARGE MAGNITUDE. 

Name Magnitude Location 

Sirius — 1.6 — 16 degrees 35 min. 

Canopus — 0.9 — 52 degrees 38 min. 

Vega 0.1 +38 degrees 42 min. 

a Centauri 0.1 — 60 degrees 28 min. 

Arcturus 0.2 -|-19 degrees 38 min. 

Capella 0.2 4-45 degrees 54 min. 

Rigel 0.3 — 8 degrees 18 min. 

Procyon 0.5 -j- 5 degrees 27 min. 

Acherner 0.6 — 57 degrees 41 min. 

b Centauri 0.9 — 59 degrees 56 min. 

Altair 0.9 +8 degrees 38 min. 

The following stars named in the above list — ^Canopus, 
Acherner, a Centauri, and b Centauri — are located so far south 
of the equator that they are not visible from the north temper- 
ate zone. 

TIME AS TOLD BY THE SHIP'S BELLS. 

The nautical day begins at noon. 

a. m. or p. m. 
a. m. or p. m. 
a. m. or p. m. 
a. m. or p. m. 
a. m. or p. m. 
a. m. or p. m. 
a. m. or p. m. 

l^-0O|Midnight 
In the striking of the bells, there is always a pause after 
the sounding of every even number of strokes. 



1 Bell .... 


. .12:30 


4:30 8:30 


2 Bells . . . . 


.. 1:00 


5:00 9:00 


3 Bells 


.. 1:30 


5:30 9:30.... 


4 Bells.... 


.. 2:00 


6:00 10:00.... 


5 Bells 


.. 2:30 


6:30 10:30.... 


6 Bells.... 


.. 3:00 


7:00 11:00 


7 Bells 


.. 3:30 


7:30 11:30.... 


8 Bells.... 


•■4:00|-- 


.... 8:oo|^;^;....i 



SHIP'S SHORE SIGNALS. 

One short whistle — call for small boat from shore. 

Two short whistles — call for lighters from shore. 

Three short whistles — call for cargo from shore. 

Four short whistles — cargo loaded. 

Five short whistles — call for ship's papers. 

Three long whistles — call for steamer's launch from shore. 



The Pacific Coast. 109 



(B) 

THE BUCCANEERS OF THE PACIFIC. 

In the days of the exploration of the Pacific coasts of Cen- 
tral and South America, the ships of Spain and England ap- 
peared to alternate in the local conquests. In fact, one explorer 
seemed to no more than discover and explore and exploit to his 
own advantage a certain locality and pass on to new fields of 
conquest than the representative of another king set up his stand- 
ard and continued the exploration and exploitation. Then indi- 
vidual crews or combinations of ships took up the business, until 
the line of demarcation between legitimate cruising, as demon- 
strated by authorized explorers, and illegitimate cruising, as 
carried on by bandits, pirates and buccaneers, became lost. 

The history of the quest of these fortune hunters for treas- 
ure and the records of their efforts in its attainment were 
marked by a trail of blood and destruction extending from 
Magdalena Bay on the north to the islands and harbors of South 
America. And the result was that neither country nor town 
escaped these depredations, nor is there a harbor nor an island 
that was not used as a rendezvous by these pioneers of adven- 
ture and crime. 

Sufficient for this work is the above statement of fact, and 
the reader who is desirous of information relating to the exploits 
of these men may find much of interest while en route along these 
coasts. 

COCOS ISLAND 

AND ITS LOST PIRATICAL TREASURE. 

Cocos Island is located in 5° 33' north latitude and 87^ west 
longitude. 

Anything said or written concerning the buccaneers and 
their life along the Pacific shores of the Americas would be 
incomplete without mentioning Cocos Island and the treasure 
that report says is buried there. All shorewise localities, from 
Maine to Brazil on the Altantic and from British Columbia to 
Terre del Fuego on the Pacific, have their local legends as to 
buried treasure and midnight visits of strangers whose efforts 
to unearth these long-lost valuables cause much local excitement 
among the inhabitants. In all the treasure trove literature, no 
story stands out more prominently than the one of Cocos Island. 

The location of this island is about five hundred miles west 
and south of the Gulf of Panama. It belongs to the republic of 
Costa Rica. From the various tales handed down by legend and 
otherwise, the following seem to be the main facts : 



no Panama— Part III. 



COCOS ISLAND— (Cont'd). 

In the years bordering on 1820 or 1830, being in fear of 
a raid from pirates, the good people of Callio placed the mov- 
able wealth of their city on a ship. The crew of this ship mur- 
dered the guards, as per the fashion of the day, and set sail 
aiming to safeguard this treasure to its own advantage and 
profit. 

They sailed for Cocos Island and landed and cached the 
loot. The authorities pursued and captured the crew and hanged 
all but the captain and one man, whose lives were spared on 
condition that they would locate the cache for their captors 
But the two escaped and joined Bonito, another buccaneer. 

The new pirate combination looted Acapulco, and again vis- 
ited Cocos Island and hid this treasure. Then a British war 
vessel captured the pirate vessel, and that captain escaped by 
ottering to turn king's evidence. 

The special information concerning the treasure was trans- 
ferred from one sea-dog, or "beach-comber," to another and 
various efforts have been made to locate the treasure, one effort 
being m a way successful. In this case the men quarreled 
about the division of the spoils while on their way to the ship 
in the small boats; the boats were capsized, the treasure lost, 
and all but one man drowned, and he died a few months later. ' 

Different efforts have been made by treasure hunters, includ- 
ing well-fitted expeditions, to unearth these caches, and even in 
modern days the newspapers tell of expeditions being formed 
for this purpose, all of which adds to the halo of romance that 
crowns the shores and islands of these coasts. 

GEOGRAPHICAL CONFIGURATION OF CENTRAL AMERICA 

The geographical configuration of Central America fol- 
lows the general outline of North and South America. The 
western portion is high table land containing mountain chains 
whose general trend follows the line of the coast. The eastern 
coast is lower and contains swamps and marshes. 

The western coast line is bold, rocky and abrupt ; the east- 
ern, low, marshy and swampy. Few sections have been thor- 
oughly explored, and vast stretches of both mountains and low 
land are a blank in the history of civilization as known at the 
present day. 

The mountain chains of western Mexico contain cloud-pierc- 
ing peaks; Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua like- 
wise contain rugged mountains. 

Volcanoes. 

The Pacific coast of Central America is well populated by 
volcanoes which by general reports are divided into three classes 
—active, sleeping and dead. 



The Pacific Coast. 1 1 1 



Volcanoes follow the line of the coast, and in Salvador and 
Nicaragua they practically form groups. 

As the chain of land connecting North and South America 
becomes narrower, the mountains become reduced in height, and 
in places natural passes occur between the Atlantic and Pacific 
Oceans. The Tehuantepec, Nicaragua lakes, Panama, San Bias 
and Darien proposed canal routes are such locations or passes. 

BAY OF PANAMA. 

World-wide travelers have said that for beauty, the view 
of Panama City from the bay can hardly be surpassed by that 
of any other city in the world. 

The various islands in the bay, combined with the encom- 
passing shore-line, form a fit setting for the scene. 

Leaving the entrance to the Canal, the Pearl Islands are off 
to the southeast, while Taboga and the lesser islands are before 
us and the break-water with Flamingo Island and its hidden 
fortifications are in the rear. 

COAST OF PANAMA. 

From Panama City to Cape Mala the course of the ship is 
south. After passing this cape, the ship's course veers to the 
west for a distance of sixty miles until Mariato Point is reached. 
This is the most southern point of the trip, the location being 
close to seven degrees north latitude. From Mariato Point to 
Burica Point the course is northwest. Here the coast line re- 
cedes, forming quite a bay, called David Bay. 

DAVID CITY. 

David City is an important Panaman city, the capital of 
Chiriqui Province, and is situated ten miles inland. It is located 
on the proposed route of the Pan-American Railroad. At one 
time it was hoped that the construction force of the Canal, on 
the completion of that work, would be transferred and used in 
building the railroad from David City to Panama City, but this 
failed to transpire. 

Burica Point may be seen in clear weather for a distance 
of thirty miles and marks the boundary between Panama and 
Costa Rica. 

GULF OF PANAMA. 

From Cape Mala on the west to Pinas Point on the east 
the distance is about 100 miles, and from a line connecting these 
points to the interior shore-line it is about as far. The water 
so enclosed constitutes the Gulf of Panama. 

The approach to the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal 
has been carefully surveyed by the authorities. A wire drag 



12 Panama — Part III. 



GULF OF PANAMA— (Cont'd). 

was used in exploring the water. This drag consists of a long 
cable held up at intervals by buoys, from which hangs a parallel 
cable. This second cable was placed at a depth of forty feet 
below sea-level, and the drag was towed slowly through the 
water. When an obstruction was encountered, an examination 
was made and its 'character determined. This drag exploration 
has included all the water for a distance of 150 to 200 square 
miles, and all hidden dangers have been carefully charted. 

Immediately off the entrance of the Canal and connected by 
the big break-water are the islands of Naos, 170 feet high; 
Culebra and Perico, each 330 feet high; and Flamenco, 350 feet 
high. Flamenco Island, in other days, was called Dead Men's 
Island, as it was the burying ground of former days. The greater 
number of graves were of persons who died aboard ship, en 
route or at anchor in the bay. Many were the victims of yellow 
fever. These bodies have all been transferred to Ancon Cem- 
etery. 

Taboga Island and the two small islands of Urava and Tobo- 
guilla are ten miles south of Panama. Taboga is the largest and 
is two miles wide by four miles long and its highest elevation is 
935 feet. It is well cultivated and has a village on its northeast 
side._ The sanitarium of the Canal Commission is located here, 
and is such a pleasant place of abode that it is said along the 
line of the Canal it almost reconciles a person to his illness when 
he is located on Taboga. Taboga is also known widely and favor- 
ably because of its success in the cultivation of pineapples. 

The Pearl Islands are located thirty-five miles southeast of 
Panama and some twenty miles off shore. The group comprises 
fifteen or twenty islands. The largest is Rey Island, seven miles 
across and fifteen miles long. There are about 3,000 inhabitants 
on these islands, who are engaged in pearl fishing. The pearl 
shells are also an article of commerce. 

The movement of sailing vessels in the Gulf of Panama is 
peculiarly difficult because of uncertain winds, continued calms 
and opposing currents, as the experience of Pizarro related in 
a previous chapter clearly indicates. Pizarro experienced this 
difficulty when, after beating around in Panama Bay for seventy 
days, the victim of calms, doldrums and vexatious winds, he was 
forced to return to port. 

The best way to succeed in sailing north is in first sailing 
south across the "Line," or equator, and getting into the south- 
east trade-winds, then sailing west until favorable northern 
winds are found. For steamers the usual route to the north is 
as close in shore as is safe because of a prevailing ocean current 
of considerable strength running to the north along the shore. 



The Pacific Coast. 1 1 3 



COSTA RICA. 
Facts. 

Established by Spaniards in 1500. 

Joined Federation of Central American States in 1824. 

Federation dissolved in 1839. 

Capital, San Jose. 

Most industrious and law-abiding nation of Central America. 

No revolution in years. 

Atlantic coast generally low. 

Pacific coast high. 

Inland ; mountains, plateaus, and volcanoes. 

Climate, tropical, often fever stricken on coasts. Temperate 
and healthful on the plateaus. 

Soil, extremely fertile. 

Valuable woods. 

All tropical fruits. 

Rich in agricultural possibilities. 

Produces one-half the world's supply of bananas. 

Called "Banana Republic." 

Rich in gold and silver and other minerals. 

An entrance tax of two cents per pound is charged on all bag- 
gage brought into the country. 

Mountains. 

Rincon da la Volcan Viejo, (active) eight miles from San 
Jose. 

Orosi, two peaks, 5,200 and 6,700 feet high. 

Aguacate. 

Barba, 9,300 feet high. 

Poas, 8,700 feet high. 

Turialbe, 11,000 feet high. 

Irazu, 13,000 feet high ; one-third distance inland from 
Pacific coast; from its summit either ocean can be seen. Car- 
tego, a city of five thousand inhabitants, was destroyed in 1911 
by this volcano, with great loss of life and property. 

Coast. 

The entrance to the Gulf of Dulce lies between Banco Point 
on the east and the high point of land on the west called Matapala 
Head, and is some eight miles wide. The gulf extends inlanrl 
about thirty miles, and the water is deep. 

Llorena Point is the high point of land at the western extrem- 
ity of the peninsula enclosing the Gulf of Dulce. 

Sal si puedes point ("sail if you can") is high and precipi- 
tous and is easily recognized by a natural terrace behind it. 



14 



Panama — Part III. 




Map of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Salvador and Guatemala. 



The Pacific Coast. 1 1 5 



From Llorena Point the coast curves to the northwest for a 
distance of seventy-five miles to Judas Point, and from this point 
the course leads almost directly into the Gulf of Nicoya. Judas 
Point on the east and Cape Blanco (white cape) on the west 
mark its entrance. The Gulf of Nicoya extends inland fifty 
miles, and contains many islands. 

Punta Arenas is on the eastern shore, half way up the gulf. 

PUNTA ARENAS. 

Punta Arenas ("point of sand") is the only town of im- 
portance on the Pacific located in Costa Rica. It is situated on 
a point of sand on the eastern side of the gulf. All communica- 
tion with the shore is by lighters or small boats. 

A visit ashore will prove to be of interest. 

Punta Arenas is connected with the Atlantic coast by a rail- 
road that crosses the country to Port Limon. The forwarding 
of mail will be expedited by making the address read "via Port 
Limon and New Orleans" and posting it at this point, thereby 
preventing its being held for the next southbound boat and car- 
ried to Panama to be forwarded. Telegraph and cable service 
are also possible from this port. 

On shore may be seen what might be called the municipal 
bath house. This bath house is set above the water on piles 
driven into the sand. The piles are surrounded by netting in- 
tended to safeguard the bathing of the people by preventing the 
entrance of sharks and other undesirable visitors. 

Sharks, jellyfish, gars and catfish may be seen in the water, 
and a line of fish hooks will help to furnish amusement for the 
passengers. 

LIGHTERS. 

Lighters are broad flat-bottomed boats or barges and are 
used for the purpose of transferring heavy freight between ship 
and shore. They are capable of floating from eight to fifteen tons 
weight and are manned by a crew of seven to eleven watermen, 
according to the size of the boat and the surf conditions. The 
lighters are propelled by long oars or sweeps in the hands of the 
crew, the men alternating along the sides of the lighter. The 
crew is in charge of one of their number, who is the captain and 
who stands at the stern and guides the lighter, using his sweep 
as a rudder. 

The poetn' of motion is exemplified by these men in handling 
their sweeps while propelling the empty lighter. The stroke is 
begun with the man standing at the height of the gunwales and 
as the stroke advances he descends into the boat, the finished 
stroke finding him standing near the bottom of the lighter. In 
recovering the stroke he steps to his place at the height of the 
gunwales. This movement of the men is rh^i:hmical and in unison. 



16 Panama — Part III. 



CAYUCA. 

A boat dug from the body of a corkwood or other light tree. 
It is the favorite small boat of the native. The watermen are 
especially expert in its manipulation, the passenger and the 
oarsman each standing while in transit, riding the waves with 
perfect equipoise. 

Leaving the Gulf of Nicoya, Cape Blanco marks the point 
to the west, whence the course is northwest past Guionos, Cape 
Velas, Port Culebra with its fine harbor, to Cape Elena, the latter, 
one of the most striking features of the coast, being a narrow, 
high, rocky peninsula some two miles long, extending directly 
into the sea. 

PAPAGAYOS. 

Prevailing and troublesome winds out of the Gulf of Papa- 
gayo, called "Papagayos," may be encountered. Their limit is 
usually confined to the coast between Cape Velas on the south 
and Cape Desolado on the north, a distance of one hundred 
miles. These winds occur during certain seasons of the year 
in the region opposite Lakes Nicaragua and Managua. They 
are caused by the opposite atmospheric conditions oi the At- 
lantic and Pacific coasts, combined with the low pass in the 
mountains (150 feet in height), and also by the two large lakes 
that lie between. The two coast lines are only 150 miles apart. 

From Cape Elena the land trends almost east, forming the 
Bay of Salinas. The boundary between Costa Rica and Nicar- 
agua enters this bay. 

CHUBASCOS. 

Chubascos are violent winds with heavy rains accompanied 
by thunder and lightning, occurring in and around the Gulf of 
Nicoya. 

NICARAGUA. 

Facts- 
Discovered in 1500. 

Declared independence from Spain in 1821. 
Joined Central American Federation in 1833. 
East coast, low and swampy. 
West coast, bold and rocky. 
Contains many volcanoes, all crowded together. 
Pacific shore line, 175 miles long. 
Largest of Central American Republics. 
Greatest in natural resources. 

Poorest in available assets, due to continued political troubles 
and revolutions. 



The Pacific Coast. I 1 7 



NICARAGUA— (Cont'd). 

Population, mixed Spanish, Indian and Negro. 

Great forests of hardwood. 

Great mineral deposits. 

Principal exports, coffee, sugar and products of the mines. 

Money ratio, ten to one. 

Mountains. 

In Nicaragua will be found extremes of geographical con- 
figuration. It contains many volcanoes and a chain of large 
lakes. 

Lake Nicaragua, 40 miles wide, 100 miles long. 

Lake Managua, 25 miles wide, 50 miles long. 

VOLCANOES. 

Ometepe (active), 5,700 feet high, 27 miles inland in Lake 
Nicaragua, often hidden by dense volumes of smoke; situated 
directly back of San Juan del Sur; the highest mountain in 
Nicaragua. 

Viejo, 5,650 feet high, visible 50 miles at sea. 

Momotombo (active), 4,000 feet high, in Lake Managua, 
when seen from sea appears as an immense isolated mountain. 

Coseguina; tremendous eruption in 1835, sand falling in 
Jamaica, Mexico and Venezuela; visible seventy miles at sea. 

Santa Clara. 

Telica, cone of extremely regular outline. 

Oroto. 

Las Pilas. 

Axoco. 

Assoco. 

Madera. 

Momotombito in Lake Nicaragua. 

Rota. 

San Jacinto. 

Masaya or Popocatepec. 

Mombacho, 4,300 feet high, on shore of Lake Nicaragua. 

Coast Line. 

The coast line of Nicaragua extends from Salinas Bay in 
the Gulf of Papagayo to the Gulf of Fonseca, in a northwesterly 
and southeasterly direction, a distance of 175 miles. 

The coast from Salinas Bay to the Port of San Juan del 
Sur, a distance of 14 miles, is high and rocky. 

PORT SAN JUAN DEL SUR. 
(St. John of the South.) 

This port is practically on the open shore and all freight 
and passengers are transferred by means of lighters or small 
boats. 



118 



Panama — Part III. 




(a) Amapala, Honduras. 

(b) La Libertad, Salvador. 

(c) Corinto, Nicaragua. 

(d) Punta Arenas, Costa Rica. 



The Pacific Coast. 119 



NICARAGUA— (Cont'd). 

BRITO. 

The Pacific entrance of the proposed Nicaragua Canal was 
at Brito, seven miles northwest of San Juan del Sur. 

There is no harbor at Brito, and it was intended to form 
one by means of jetties and excavations. 

Cape Desolado is 70 miles northwest of San Juan del Sur, and 
is a prominent headland. The coast continues in the same general 
direction to Corinto, a distance of 50 miles. 

CORINTO. 

Corinto becomes an important port in the mind of the pas- 
senger, as it is, in fact, of the republic of Nicaragua, because the 
ship enters the harbor and proceeds to wharf. The passenger 
has the opportunity to step off ship, steady his feet on terra firma 
and fill his lungs with shore air. 

The population meets the boat on its arrival, and the wharf 
merchant displays his wares and is ready for business. Fruits 
and vegetables may be bought, and native drinks from calabash 
cups may be sampled. These calabash cups are the general 
dining room and kitchen ware of the native Central American 
household, and are of all sizes and many have designs neatly 
carved on their backs. They make a pretty souvenir and are 
cheap. 

Corinto is an old town, replete with history, and will be 
found to be quite interesting. A railroad connects it with the 
interior. The small size of the engine and rolling stock is fully 
offset by the bustling way in which it hustles about its work. 

A w^alk throusrh the town and a glimpse in the stores will 
pass the time profitably and a meal at that noted hostelry, the 
Corinto Hotel, may not be amiss. The proprietor of this hotel 
is well worth an acquaintance, and he can give many interesting 
reminiscences — if he can be prevailed upon to talk. Many noted 
characters have stopped with him and his experiences with them 
have not all been to the good credit of the traveler. 

An army post and band are located here and the national 
spirit of the country can be studied at close range. 

Corinto has had her part in making much histoiy, in insur- 
rection, fevers and what not, and one interested could gather 
many curious scraps of history well worth his time and trouble. 

The harbor lies so peacefully in the evening air that the 
mountains and line of vegetation on the farther side are mir- 
rored on its surface; or, just as probably, the storms come, and 
all nature may be in a turmoil. 

Corinto being such an important port, the ship may remain 
a day or possibly two. Time may be had for a short trip up the 
railroad ; if so, it would well repay the effort. 



20 Panama— Part III. 



The quarantine laws of the Canal Zone do not deal kindly 
with Corinto. Ships laying at the dock at Corinto after sun- 
down may not enter a United States port for eight days there- 
after, consequently, the north bound ship remains at wharf dur- 
ing the night, while the south bound ship due at Panama in less 
than eight days leaves the dock at sun-down and anchors in the 
bay, returning at sun-up of the succeeding day to complete its 
cargo. 

Many volcanic peaks may be seen from Corinto, one of which 
at least, Momotombo, is active. 

Coseguina Point is 40 miles northwest of Corinto, and Cose- 
guina Point marks the turn into the Gulf of Fonseca. The 
boundary line between Nicaragua and Honduras enters the Gulf 
of Fonseca a short distance after rounding Coseguina Point. 

Nicaragua, with its mountains containing many volcanoes, 
is populated with a similarly volcanic people. If the inhabit- 
ants could settle down to the necessities of business and make 
good use of the natural resources of their country, their pros- 
perity would be wonderful. 



HONDURAS. 

Facts. 

Capital, Tegucigalpa. 

Rich in natural wealth but undeveloped because of con- 
tinued warfare. 

Government established in 1838. 
Climate, semi-tropical. 

GULF OF FONSECA. 

The entrance to the Gulf of Fonseca is located between 
Coseguina Point on the east and Amapala Point, twenty miles 
away on the west. Coseguina Point is in Nicaragua and Ama- 
pala Point is in Salvador, and the coast line of Honduras lies 
inside the headlands of the gulf, and between the boundary lines 
of these two countries. 

The gulf extends inland twenty-five miles, and has a width 
varying from twenty-five miles at the southern portion, to almost 
double that at the northern end. There are many islands of 
varying importance in the gulf. The depth of water ranges from 
deep to shoal. Sudden squalls of wind, and what might be called 
draughts through the mountains and between the islands, com- 
bined with troublesome currents, make extreme caution neces- 
sary by navigators. To these difficulties may be added sunken 
rocks and wrecks of ships at the entrance. 

Honduras has one port of call, Amapala. 



The Pacific Coast. 1 2 1 



AMAPALA. 

Amapala is beautifully located on Tigre Island, at the base 
of a dome-shaped mountain. The ship anchors in deep water, 
and here again lighters and small boats are the means of com- 
munication with the town. 

Go ashore if possible. The experience will be worth the ef- 
fort. Probably the Government will be represented at the wharf 
by soldiers, for the people of Honduras and especially Amapala 
are a martial people. 

The town is an old one, and is well built. The buildings are 
scattered along the shore from the barracks on the left to the 
fort on the hill on the right. The stores front the water, and 
small purchases can be made. To the right is the school. You 
may enter if you wish, and witness the method of training the 
young Honduran mind. Further to the right is a public park 
enclosed by an iron fence, and filled with strange plants and 
trees. It contains a band-stand and a large statue of one of the 
national heroes. 

The United States and Honduras have had so many mis- 
understandings that the former usually keeps a gunboat in the 
harbor. Any old-timer on shipboard or ashore can relate much 
history that will be of interest. 

This port, as well as La Union, across the bay, makes a 
specialty of tortoise shell ornaments and combs. By careful 
bargaining the passenger may be able to make a satisfactory 
purchase. 

After a few hours spent in this harbor, and with a fairly 
complete knowledge of the difficulties of its navigation, the 
quartermaster's call of the lead will have a new significance as 
he sings "Mark Seven. Quarter less Seven. One-half Six," with 
the long drawn out word and the short explosive number. 



SALVADOR. 

Facts. 

Became independent in 1842. 

Sixty miles by one hundred forty miles in extent. 

Most densely populated of Central America republics. 

Capital, San Salvador. 

Second city, Sonsonate. 

More than one-half area is volcanic mountains. 

Products — coffee, bananas, sugar and minerals. 

Mountains. 

The mountains of Salvador do not extend in chains, but 
occur in clusters of peaks or groups. 



122 Panama — Part III. 



The Isalco group comprise the following : 

Isalco, (active) 6,300 feet Naranjos. 

high, 18 miles from Corinto, Aguila. 

can be seen, although higher San Juan de Dios. 

peaks are behind it. Apaneca. 

Marcelino Tamajaso. 

Santa Ana Lagurita. 

The San Miguel group comprise the following : 
*San Miguel, (active) 7,000 Usulatan. 

feet high, perfect cone. Tecape. 

Chinaneca. Tabureto. 

Buenapa. 

The San Salvador group comprise the following: 
San Salvador, (active) 5,700 San Vincente, 7,000 

feet high, visible sixty feet high, truncated 

miles at sea. cone. 

Cojutepeque. 

The City of San Salvador was destroyed by volcanoes in 
1594, 1658, 1710 and 1854. It is always in danger. 

Coast Line. 

The coast line of Salvador extends from the Gulf of Fonseca, 
including the town of La Union, to the La Paz River, a distance 
of 160 miles. The coast line is a belt of low rich land, ten to 
twenty miles in width, backed by a table-land containing a high 
range of mountains. 

Salvador is a country of volcanoes, dead, sleeping and 
active. To a person in passing, it would seem that this whole 
section of Central American Coast, from Mexico to Costa Rica, 
was in process of formation. Earthquakes are frequent; vol- 
canoes ever-present; storms either possible or probable, and 
along this section of the coast from La Union to Acapulco, a 
distance of several hundred miles, there is no harbor of safety. 
Even in a calm, the sea is in motion. Along this section of the 
coast are experienced the swells. These swells are not waves 
but a successive raising and lowering of the surface of the 
water, varying in magnitude according to local conditions, until 
in some localities life on a ship at anchor becomes a misery. 
(See page 124.) 

During the season of storms, no landings can be made and 
no communication with the shore can be had, and if a severe 
storm arises while the ship is on this coast, the only port of 
safety is the open sea. 



*Note: San Miguel is one of the most treacherous of burn- 
ing mountains in America. After several years' repose it may 
suddenly burst into fury. 



The Pacific Coast. 1 23 



LA UNION. 

La Union is on the opposite side of the Gulf of Fonseca from 
Amapala and the short voyage is very interesting, as the ship 
passes between islands through narrow channels so close to 
land on either side that their strange vegetation is in good view. 

La Union is said to be the hottest town along the coast, be- 
cause it is located on the shore of the gulf and is enclosed from 
the sea breezes by mountains on all sides. 

The ship anchors out in the bay, because of mud-flats, and 
communication with the shore is by means of lighters. Here, 
again, tortoise shell ornaments are featured. 

Passing out of the gulf, going past Conchagua volcano and 
Amapala Point, the trend of the coast line continues northwest 
to the Port of La Libertad, a distance of eightj^-five miles. 

LA LIBERTAD. 

La Libertad is but an open port, exposed to the full effects 
of wind and water at all seasons of the year and in bad weather 
no shore communication can be had. It is the port of the City of 
San Salvador, twenty-six miles inland, with which it is con- 
nected by a good wagon road. It is also the sea resort for the 
elite of that city, whose season of gaiety is not considered com- 
plete without spending a "moon" in surf bathing on the beach at 
La Libertad. 

An improvement in the general conditions of water traf- 
fic is made by the use of a little tug that blusters back and forth. 

Passengers are landed over the ship's side into the lighters 
by means of a two-seated box, capable of carrying four persons. 
It is lowered and raised by the blocks and tackle of the ship. The 
same system is used at the wharf, making the transfer of pas- 
sengers interesting and sometimes exciting. 

Thirty miles up the coast from La Libertad is Acajutla. 

ACAJUTLA (pronounced Acahootla). 

Acajutla, connected by railroad with the interior cities of 
Sonsonate and San Salvador, is an important poii; of export. 
This port is also an open roadstead, dangerous in rough weather. 
It is located on one of the main arteries of commerce into the 
republic of Salvador and the movement of passengers and 
freight is important. 

This section of the coast has a history of earthquakes and 
wrecks. The old town of Acajutla was situated two miles east, 
before it was destroyed and the channel of the river filled up. 

The remains of the steamer Colon may be seen, and other 
wrecks have occurred on Point Remedios, to the right of the 
town. 



124 Panama — Part III. 



The La Paz River marks the boundary between Salvador 
and Guatemala and is ten miles west of Acajutla. 

LUNAR RAINBOW AT SEA. 

Tropical storms come and go, and local conditions are so 
unusual that strange phenomena may be seen. 

A storm on the horizon with the full moon on the opposite 
side of the heavens may give a view of a lunar rainbow. Dur- 
ing the month of January, 1911, one of exceptional brilliancy 
was seen while the writer was sailing off the coast of Salvador. 

A light shower had fallen, but had passed west and the full 
moon was rising in the east. The bow, with colors so strongly 
marked that they were individualized, seemed to be set on the 
sea with one foot of the arch in the northwest and the other in 
the southwest, extending almost to the meridian without a break 
in its broad bands. The ship appeared to be sailing straight 
into its center, while the admiring passengers, loathe to leave 
such a beautiful sight, gathered on deck. 

The lightnings of an electric storm among the mountains 
on shore, playing through the clouds, the reflection of volcanic 
fires on the under-surface of the clouds, the storm at sea in the 
west, the clear sky overhead and the full moon on the eastern 
horizon made a picture that it will be difficult to efface from 
mind. 

The law of the lunar rainbow is the same as that of the 
sun; i. e., a line drawn from the moon, or sun, on a line with 
the eye of the observer, will, if extended, pass through the center 
of the rainbow. 



SWELLS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 

Along this section of the coast are experienced the swells 
of the ocean. These swells are not waves, but rather a succes- 
sive raising and lowering of the surface of the water. In some 
localities this movement is so pronounced as to interfere with 
the regular life on the boat. The ship, after anchoring, swings 
lengthwise to the swells. As the successive swells approach the 
ship, it swings to meet them, passes over them to a perpendic- 
ular and swings down on the other side to right itself in the val- 
ley and prepare to swing again. The motion is so pronounced at 
times that one has to grasp a fixture of the ship to keep up- 
right. Since some anchorages are held from twelve to thirty- 
six hours, as made necessary by the hours of business, the effect 
on the internal workings of the body can be understood. 

The United States pilot books warn against the effect on 
passengers and crew, and suggest a double anchorage, bow and 
stern, across the line of the swells, in order to steady the ship. 



The Pacific Coast. 1 25 



PORPOISE. 

The porpoise is found in all salt waters of the tropical and 
temperate zones. It is sociablv gregarious in its habits and is 
usually seen in small herds. It frequents the shore line rather 
than the open sea, coming into rivers and small bays. It is 
called the sea-hog by sailors, and grows to the normal length of 
a man. It may be seen gamboling along the course of a ship 
as if enjoying company. 

Coming out of Champerico during a late voyage, the pas- 
sengers were called to the bow of the ship to see, as the sailors 
said, "the porpoises scraping the barnacles off their tails with 
the bow of the ship." There below, plainly to be seen in the 
clear water, were three large porpoises swimming side by side 
just in front of the cut-water of the ship, as active and busy as 
though it was their duty to pilot the boat through the water, 
while on each side were other porpoises tumbling along on the 
surface of the water as though the whole fleet were out on a lark. 

The officers said that the porpoises always accompanied the 
ship out of this harbor in that manner. 

GUATEMALA. 

Facts. 

Became independent of S"Dain in 1823. 

Joined Central America Federation in 1824. 

Regained independence in 1851. 

Population 2,000.000, of which 1,000.000 are full-blood 
Indians, 800,000 are half-breeds and 200,000 are people of 
property. 

The native population is poor and in debt continually. 

Soldiers receive four cents per day. 

Laborers receive nine cents per day. 

Climate along the coast is tropical and that of the interior 
is temperate. 

Mountains. 

Guatemala with its 125 miles of coast line furnishes fifteen 
or twenty volcanic peaks. 

Fuego, (active) 13.000 feet high. 

Pocaya, (active) 12,000 feet high. 

Atitlan, (active) 

Ouesaltenango, 9,500 feet high. 

Taiunuelco. 

Vulcan de Agua ("water"). 13.000 feet high, in 1841 de- 
.stroyed old City of Guatemala by deluge of water; source of 
water probably a cratorial lake. 

Santa Maria, 12,500 feet high. 



26 Panama — Part III. 



GUATEMALA. 

Coast Line. 

The coast line of Guatemala extends from the La Paz River 
to the boundary of Mexico, a distance of 120 miles. 

From Remedios Point near Acajutla to west of the Gulf 
of Tehuantepec, this coast has no harbors. It is a continuous 
sandy beach. In case of rough weather the only rule for a 
ship is to put to sea. What with a rough surf-line ashore and 
a continual swell afloat, life is uncertain in its comfort going 
or coming. 

The republic of Guatemala should be specially felicitated 
because of its national hymn, which will rank with the similar 
composition of any country on earth. 

San Jose, Champerico and Ocos, the three ports of Guate- 
mala, are open roadsteads off a sandy coast composed of long 
sand islands thrown up by the waves and backed by long nar- 
row lagoons. 

SAN JOSE DE GUATEMALA. 

San Jose is Guatemala's chief export city. It is connected 
with Guatemala City by railroad. The high mountain range 
contains many volcanoes. Agua and Fuego volcanoes are of 
special interest. 

The town sustains an electric light plant. 

CHAMPERICO. 

The port of Champerico is worked by surf boats, assisted by 
small tugs. The passengers are placed in the lighters by the 
"Pacific Coast Elevator," as the box is called, and pulled up on 
the pier in the same manner. A railroad extends a few miles 
into the country, and assists very materially in the importance of 
the port. 

The swells become more noticeable here, and special care is 
taken to insure safe anchorage by the use of two anchors or at 
least having the second one ready to drop in case of an emergency. 

SHARKS. 

Sharks are plentiful in all tropical waters, and they may be 
seen and caught along the Central American coast. 

Different methods are used in their capture, not the least 
interesting being that of shooting. As the ship rides at anchor, 
a piece of fat meat is fastened to a string and allowed to drop 
over into the water and float a short distance away. The fisher- 
man (or hunter) takes his place at the rail. A quick eye, and 
a quick finger at the trigger are necessary. The water being 
clear the approach of the shark may be easily seen. The shark 



The Pacific Coast. 1 27 



SHARKS— (Cont'd). 

approaches the meat, probably in big sweeping circles, possibly 
passing swiftly out of sight to return again. 

If he desires the meat, he raises to it and turns on his side, 
his mouth being set under and back of his nose. The moment 
he reaches for the bait is the opportune time. A moment too 
soon or too late loses the game. 

The only objection to this sport is that in case of success, 
the fish is lost, as it sinks at once. 

Considering the continual movement of the bait and the 
ship, because of the heavy swells, the swift circular approach 
of the game, its quick turning on its side as it prepares to seize 
the bait, and the brief second of exposure as it reaches the sur- 
face of the water, the hunter may feel chagrined, but not neces- 
sarily humiliated, if his shot is unsuccessful. 

A permit for shooting should be secured from the Captain, 
as shooting may conflict with laws either aboard ship or ashore. 

'^''^ SNAKES. 

Snakes are seen in the waters off shore. They are probably 
washed down from the rivers. 

TORTOISE. 

Many large tortoise are passed at sea as they float along the 
surface of the waves. Combs and other ornaments are manu- 
factured from the shell and may be bought at the ports along the 
coasts of Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. 

MACKEREL. 

Schools of mackerel abound along the coast. 

The mackerel is a pelagic, camiverous fish, widely distributed 
and extremely abundant, peopling in countless schools the tropical 
oceans. Mackerel have elegantly shaped, well porportioned bodies. 
No other fish show finer lines. 

PILOT FISH. 

The pilot fish is a pelagic fish of the horse mackerel family 
and gets its name from the sailors, because of its habit of keep- 
ing company with ships and large fish, especially sharks. It 
is probably a foot long. 

Sailors say a shark never seizes a pilot fish, depending on 
it to show the way to its food, the shark's eyes being so placed 
that it is at a disadvantage for sight. It is said the pilot fish 
swims under the head of the shark. 

Shooting along the coast from ships is allowed in all Central 
American countries, if the permission of the Captain of the 
ship is obtained. Mexico, however, has a law against the dis- 
charge of firearms within the three-mile limit. 



128 



Panama — Part III. 




(1) Mazatlan, Mexico. (2) Wreck of the "Sosostres" (page 129). 
(3) Manzanillo, Mexico. (4) Fort San Diego, Acapulco, Mexico. 



The Pacific Coast. 129 



ocos. 

At Ocos the boat anchors near the buoy to which the end- 
less cable is attached and swings lengthwise to the swells. Ocos 
is a small collection of houses sitting on the beach, but is an 
important port of export. Much of the coffee shipped from 
Gautemala passes through this port. 

Here is the most picturesque wreck along the coast. In 
1909 the German ship, "Sosostres," of Hamburg, on her first 
voyage, a stranger along a strange coast, arrived at this anchor- 
age. She was 375 feet long and fifty feet wide, full rigged and 
with a full complement of officers and crew. 

The night was calm, the moon shone brightly and the waters 
apparently held no danger. The ship anchored, and the crew, 
proceeding to take advantage of so peaceful a coast and so 
propitious a time, drew the fires for the purpose of cleaning the 
boilers. 

Night came and peace yet reigned. All retired except the 
watchman, who slept without retiring. The giant swells soon 
came into their own, for the continual movement caused the 
cable to slip its anchor. The first alarm was given by the ship 
itself when it drifted sidewise onto the shore and its keel began 
to pound on the sandy beach. Too late the crew sprang to their 
places. There was no power on board, nor at sea, nor ashore, to 
prevent the progress of the ship toward the beach. Each swell 
put her further in-shore, until she now rests upright 200 or 300 
feet inland, a complete steamer on an even keel, sails at yards, 
small boats at davits and all the ship's furnishings in their 
proper places — an object lesson to the maritime wayfarer, point- 
ing to the first lesson of success in various walks of life, as well 
as to liberty — eternal vigilance, which is the price of safety as 
well as successful progress on land or on sea. 

The result in this case was a loss of a quarter of a million 
dollars' worth of ship, the cargo and crew being saved. 

The underwriters paid the loss, and after unsuccessful at- 
tempts to float the vessel, sold it as it stood to a citizen of Mexico 
City for $10,000.00 gold. He has it attached, as it stands in the 
sand, broad-side to the sea, with cables to anchors embedded 
off-shore, arguing that "some day" a tidal wave may come, and 
if it does come it might wash the ship to sea, thereby using the 
force that caused the vessel to run aground to also set the ship 
afloat. It would seem that there are dead game sports, and per- 
sons who are willing to take a long shot at the game, located in 
all parts of the world. 

About ten miles west of Ocos is Tacana Volcano, 14,000 feet 
high. The boundary line between Guatemala and Mexico passes 
over its summit. 



30 



Panama — Part III. 




The Pacific Coast. [31 



MEXICO. 



Facts. 



Pacific coast line, 4,200 miles long. 

Under Spanish rule from 1521 to 1821, or for 300 years. 

From 1821 to 1869, internal wars. 

From 1869 to the present day, a republic. 

Western coast mountain ranges. 

Central portion plateau. 

Few volcanoes. 

Contains mountain peaks 17,000 feet high. 

Mexico was inhabited by people of advanced civilization 
when discovered by the Spaniards. This people had a written 
language, lived in large and permanent cities, m houses built 
of stone. 

Mountains. 

The mountains of Lower California are not high, but the 
country is dry and parched and barren. The Coast Range of 
the United States continues down this peninsula to its end. _ 

The Rocky Mountain Range of the United States continues 
down through Mexico as the Sierra Madre del Sur, and contains 
some of the highest ranges and peaks of the western hemi- 

SDhere 

Along the coast the ranges and high peaks are always in 
view usually fronted by ten or twenty miles of low coast, then 
by upland and then come the ranges, thirty to sixty miles away. 

Colima, flanked by Safa, just back of Manzanillo has late 
history, and the two mountains occupy a wonderfully beautiful 
setting along the high peaks of the range. (See page 138.) 

North of Acapulco, the mountains raise m the distance m 
successive ranges until, thirty miles from the coast, they are 
12,000 feet high. The ranges drop at the Isthmus of Tehuan- 
tepec, raising again to the high mountains of Guatemala, Hon- 
duras and Nicaragua; Mt. Tacana, on the line between Mexico 
and Guatemala, being 14,000 feet high. 

Coast Line. 

The Mexican coast line extends from the Guatemala bound- 
ary northwest to that of the United States, near San Diego, Cali- 
fornia, and is 4,200 miles long. The route of coast travel takes 
one along this coast to Mazatlan, from which port the steamer 
turns a little south of west to cross the mouth of the Gulf of 
California, rounding the lower end of Lower California before 
changing again to the northern course. Changes of climate, 
scenery and civilization have occurred with the boat's progress. 



132 Panama— Part III. 



MEXICO— (Cont'd). 

In Mexican territory, marine laws are more strictly enforced, 
and the visits of the port doctor and the customs officer become 
more ceremonious. 

The voyage across the Gulf of California to the southern 
end of Lower California is something like fifteen hours' ride and 
the water is two miles deep. 

Cape San Lucas is the first land approached after crossing 
the Gulf and is a prominent point crowned by a lighthouse 
whose tower is fifty feet high. The light is 265 feet above water 
and can be seen twenty-five miles at sea. 

To the right of the Point, the rocks extend into the Gulf 
and form an archway through which the water rushes and the 
rocks beyond can be seen. Three or four miles bring the ship 
to Cape Falso, the southernmost point of Lower California. 
Here, as at other places along the coast, on turning an exposed 
point of land on the way north, the old and experienced traveler 
looks for a change in the weather because of the new northern 
exposure. If this change has not been experienced up to the time 
of clearing the lower end of Lower California, changes are likely 
to occur regularly thereafter. The low coast is almost out of 
sight, and the ship becomes independent of the coast line. If 
the captain expects fair weather, he puts to sea to make a direct 
route; if he expects foul weather, he hugs the shore, taking 
advantage of shore islands and channels. 

At night, changes will be observed in the celestial world, 
the Southern Cross and other southern stars each night becom- 
ing lower on the southern horizon, and by the time that the 
International Boundary is passed they have disappeared from 
view. When the coast of California, with its vivid green hills, 
finally appears in view, one feels that he has passed almost into 
another strange country instead of having just returned to his 
own land. 

From Point Sur the coast of California, with its high, rocky 
shore and green valleys and little villages, is seen. The days 
and nights are made more pleasant, it is hoped, by the retrospect 
of an enjoyable voyage, and the prospect of an early arrival in 
the home port of San Francisco. 

If the weather allows, the ship's course will probably be 
laid outside of San Clement and Catalina Islands off the lower 
coast of the state of California, and outside of the Santa Bar- 
bara channel. But if the barometer is falling and the weather 
conditions indicate a rough sea, the course of the ship will 
probably be set inside these islands and up through the Santa 
Barbara channel. 



The Pacific Coast. [33 



SHIP'S COURSE IN DETAIL. 

San Benito, Mexico. 

On leaving Ocos, San Benito, twenty miles north, is the first 
Dort of call in Mexico. It is but a small collection of thatched 
bamboo houses, containing two or three Chinese stores and the 
warehouse of the Steamship Company. Quite an extensive ex- 
port trade, principally coffee, is conducted through this port. 

Surf boats, or lighters, are used to communicate between 
ship and shore, and the method is unique. There is an endless 
wire cable attached to a buoy anchored out in deep water and 
to a stationary engine ashore. The lighters are drawn up on the 
sand inside the line of surf, and loaded and covered with tar- 
paulins The waves break and wash over the sand beyond the 
boat. At times the boat is on the sand and at other times is 
waist deep in water. This, however, makes no difference to the 
men carrying the freight. 

Two men in the warehouse lift the bag of coffee, weighing 
probably 150 pounds, and lay it across the shoulders of a third 
man, who moves off to the lighter, either on dry sand or hip deep 
in water, as the condition of the waves makes necessar>\ iwo 
other men standing at the shore end of the lighter lift the bur- 
den from his shoulders and place it on the lighter, where it is 
properly located by the men aboard. The men care nothing per- 
sonally for the water, expending their energies to keep the cargo 
dry When the lighter is loaded and the cargo covered, the cable 
is placed in grooves over the bow and stern of the lighter and 
held in place by pieces of rope wrapped around the cable and 
held taut by members of the crew. 

The man in charge takes his place in the stem and they 
are ready for the voyage through the surf to the ship ; but more 
than the readiness of these men is necessary for the safe navi- 
gation of these waters. They must take advantage of an opening 
in the surf when it appears. The captain in charge holds two 
flags, one black to take the lighter to sea, and the other white 
to bring it ashore. . 

The waves are scanned for the opportune opening. Sud- 
denly the black flag is held aloft. The man in charge of the 
engine opens the throttle, the cable starts, and the lighter is 
pulled into the surf. Possibly the time is right ; as probably it 
is wrong ; the chances may be too great, the waves too strong ; 
down comes the black flag, up goes the white flag ; the engineer 
reverses the movement of the cable and the boat runs back to 
the shore— ahead of the dark green, wicked-looking waves that 
curl their tops sometimes double the height of the lighter and 
its load. But perhaps the time is right and the lighter proceeds 
and is soon surrounded by this maelstrom of water, swinging 



134 Panama— Part III. 



from one side to the other, but always advancing, with the slap 
of the waves on its bow and sides and with the spray flying 
along and sometimes over the lighter. 

Soon the surf is passed and the boat moves on out over the 
smooth surface of the swells to the buoy. The black flag is 
dropped, the cable stopped and cast off the lighter, while the 
men get their long sweeps over the side and row to the ship. 

The trip from ship to land is not so exciting for the lighter, 
after picking up the cable, and the white flag is raised, follows 
the waves, plunging through the surf and is soon bumping on 
the sandy beach. 

The passenger going ashore is landed over the side of the 
ship and into the lighter by means of the "Pacific Coast Elevator" 
(i. e., the box) . 

If he follows the custom of the native, after being deposited 
in the lighter, he perches himself on the side of it with the green 
water just below; but when through the foaming waters of the 
surf and the end of the lighter rests on the sand, the passenger 
is not safely ashore. The waves come and go, and when they 
go the sand is bare, but when they come — well, three feet will 
hardly measure their depth. The answer is read in the eyes of 
the boatman. If you want help, choose your man, and at once 
if you would clear yourself of any implication of being a stranger 
to such a situation. Choose a broad-shouldered, tall, good- 
natured fellow. Signal him and he will do the rest. 

He will come to the bow of the boat and if you are a woman 
you will be carried safely to the dry sand. If you are a man he 
will "back up" to the bow and expect you to get on his shoulders 
with a foot on each side of his neck. He will walk through the 
water, drop on his knees upon the dry sand and you are at liberty 
to walk off to your explorations. 

The return is made in reverse action. When you are ready 
to return you signal your man and he comes to you. If you are 
a woman you will be carried safely to the lighter; if a man, he 
drops down on his hands and knees behind you, sticks his head 
between your knees and begins to rise to his feet. All you have 
to do is to keep the center of gravity over the base of support. 
This may not be as easy as it sounds, as you are compelled to 
get higher upon his shoulders as he gains the perpendicular. 
The operation is always a matter of concern to the boatmen, and 
if you are slow, thereby hampering the carrier in his efforts, 
they will all join with him in crying: "Arriba! Arriba! Senor" 
(Higher! Higher! Sir!), being well-meant advice intended to 
assist you in gaining the perpendicular in your efforts to form 
the central picture of the situation. 

After the rider becomes firmly located in his seat the carrier 
starts off at a swinging pace over the sand toward the lighter. 
The close proximity of the big green waves breaking at his feet, 



The Pacific Coast. [35 



combined with their generally angry aspect and the unsteady 
seat which the rider occupies, are all a possible cause of uneasi- 
ness in the mind of the inexperienced. As they near the lighter, 
the big waves, curling higher than the nder's head, would seem 
to engulf horse and rider, but the waterman strides on m com- 
Dlete disregard of their nearness, well knowing that they will 
break at his feet and curl on up the beach. He approaches the 
Hghter from the stem, taking advantage of the comparatively 
quiet waters to be found there, and stops at the side of the 
lighter The men standing there assist the rider into the lighter 
and he climbs into the place at the stem away from the dashing 
spray, as instructed by the captain, not being quite sure m his 
mind that having passed through one apparent danger he has not 
placed himself in front of a greater one; but the captain raises 
his black flag, the engine starts, the cable pulls at the lighter, 
which, with its cargo, is off into the midst of the turmoil of 
waters. After the first few moments he begins to enjoy the 
excitement and he will possibly be sorrj- when he finds the lighter 
is out on comparatively quiet water and his unusual experience 
of passing through the surf on the Central American coast is 
at an end. 

Salina Cruz. 

Salina Cruz is located on the inner line of Tehuantepec Bay. 
It is an important town and has many improvements intended 
to assist the shipping of the port. While formerly very un- 
healthy, it now has a modem system of sewerage a-d water and 
an electric light plant. The port is protected by a Lreakwater 
and is a landing of the submarine cable. ^ ^ , ,, 

It has railroad communication with Coatzacoalcos on tne 
Atlantic coast and is located at the Pacific entrance of the at- 
times proposed Tehuantepec ship railroad. 

The Isthmus at this point is 140 miles wide. 

Crossing the Gulf of Tehuantepec. 

Whether the traveler goes into the port of Salina Cruz or 
crosses the gulf directly from point to point, he will probably 
have good reasons for recollecting the Gulf of Tehuantepec. 

All the way from Panama, when you are either compliment- 
ing the good weather or naming the bad, the old traveler will 
say, "Yes, but wait until we cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec. 
You wonder what is meant. You are now in a position to find 
out. The davs and nights may have been of the best, but the 
crew now begins to make the ship "ship-shape." Down come 
the awnings, all loose ends are tightened, and the ship prepares 
for a visitor. You will recognize its approach. If at night, by 
the rolling of the boat, the whistling of the wind, the beating of 
the waves, and the flying of the spume. If you have prepared 



36 



Panama — Part III. 



yourself by the only recipe for escaping sea-sickness, viz., a clear 
conscience and an empty stomach, and if you are a good sailor, 
you may escape a visitation from mal-de-mer, and be able to go 
to the table for regular meals. 

Anyway, the winds and waves kick up a "beastly nawsty 
sea" at best, and all are relieved in mind and body when the 
ship sails behind a headland, the winds cease and the waves lose 
their motion. The awnings are replaced, the ship proceeds on 
its way and the passengers return to the deck, and this is "cross- 
ing the Gulf of Tehuantepec." 

The cause of all this disturbance is found in the fact that 
the Atlantic coast line approaches to within 150 miles, the moun- 
tains decrease their height, and the differences between the 
atmospheric pressures of the two coast lines are caught in their 
effort to adjust themselves to a common level. In other words, 
the ship has passed through a draught and the passengers have 
suffered accordingly. 




Ocos Mountain Range. 
(From a sketch made on the scene.") 



From the Gulf of Tehuantepec to Acapuleo. 

From the Gulf of Tehuantepec to Acapuleo the mountain 
scenery is of unusual interest. The mountains are back twenty- 
five or thirty miles from the coast and are composed of successive 
ranges and peaks. 

This country is almost altogether unexplored, and travelers 
tell of a strange Indian tribe, whose unusually beautiful women 
have light-colored hair, and they recount a shipwreck of years 
ago, which left the sailors on this shore. The castaways re- 
mained and married into the Indian tribes. 



The Pacific Coast. 137 



Acapulco. 

The light at the entrance to Acapulco Harbor is placed 375 
feet above water and is visible twenty-five miles at sea. 

Acapulco is a beautiful harbor one mile wide and two and 
one-half miles long, surrounded by high mountams, causmg the 
locality to be very unhealthful. A cut has been made through 
the hill on the left of the town to the ocean, to let m the sea 
breeze, which has to some extent raised the standard of health 
considerably above that formerly experienced. 

After passing from the ocean into the harbor through the 
narrow entrance flanked by the high hills, the ship proceeds to 
the left, up the bay and anchors before the town. It will be 
surrounded by rowboats, the boatmen patiently waiting for the 
doctor and customs officer to perform their duties, after which 
bedlam breaks loose in the close competition for business. 

Acapulco is interesting historically and commercially. In 
the days of Spanish world-supremacy, this port was on the high- 
way between the Philippines and Spain. Treasure was brought 
here carried on mule-back to Vera Cruz on the Atlantic and 
thence by ship to Spain. Fort San Diego, on the right shore, 
was built for the protection of the harbor, and should be visited. 
It has an ancient moat, a drawbridge, heavy stone walls and all 
the paraphernalia of a fortress of the middle ages. 

Drawn-work is the feature of this place. It was taught 
originally by special teachers brought from Ireland. A visit 
among the shops will please the ladies, and the prices asked will 
not displease the men. 

Acapulo has suffered greatly from earthquakes, and ruins 
from their effects may be seen on all sides. 

The phosphorescence of the waters in the bay is very un- 
usual in brightness and the movements of fish can be traced by 
means of these lights, which are so strong that shadows are 
cast on the upper works of the ship. The waters of this bay, 
with all their beauties, hold hidden dangers, as is realized when 
it is understood that all books of authority always give the cau- 
tion that this bay is infested by man-eating sharks. 

Cape Corrientes. 

We now approach Cape Corrientes (Cape of the Currents). 
This is a shoulder of high land reaching out into the ocean. 
Travelers of experience along these coasts will speak of turning 
different northern exposures and of the general consequences as 
to the weather. 

Each prominent outpost exposes the ship to the influences 
of winds and currents as governed by the northern exposure. 
Cape Corrientes is no exception to this rule, but rather accentu- 



38 Panama— Part III. 



ates it. The coast line trends more to the north, and the currents 
of water and air are more influenced by northern temperatures. 

A lighthouse is located on Cape Corrientes 275 feet above 
water, and its light may be seen twenty-four miles at sea. 

Leaving Cape Corrientes, the shore line swings to the East, 
entering Banderas Bay. 

Las Tres Marias Islands. 

Las Tres Marias Islands ("The Three Marys") lie fifty miles 
off shore, and about the same distance ahead, from Cape Cor- 
rientes. 

These islands are high and rocky in formation, and were 
formerly the headquarters of the buccaneers. 

The first island to the south is Cleopha, four miles in diam- 
eter; the second, Magdalena, eight miles long; and the third, 
Maria Madre, is twelve miles long. 

Mexico uses these islands for a penal settlement. The chief 
export is salt. 

San Bias. 

San Bias is located on an open shore and has little protec- 
tion from the storms. The government has built piers and break- 
waters to add to the safety of the port. It has an unhealthful 
location, surrounded by swamps, and during the rainy season is 
infested with swarms of mosquitoes. It is the port for the city 
of Tepic, a thriving town of several thousand inhabitants, thirty 
miles inland. 

San Bias was formerly a town of importance, but the rail- 
roads have reduced its trade. The ruins of the old town, a mile 
inland, are worth a visit. 

Colima and Safa Volcanoes. 

Important — Do not miss the opportunity to see these vol- 
canoes. If the ship passes them in the night time, they should 
be just as interesting. 

Colima is an active volcano, 12,300 feet high. 

Safa is a sleeping volcano, 14,600 feet high. 

They are so located, with the range of low mountains in 
front, that the view of their forms and peculiarities is unob- 
structed from base to summit. They are at first in line, and 
appear as one mountain, but later, as the ship advances, they 
separate and Colima shows itself the smaller, for all its height, 
being over-topped by Safa, located three miles further from the 
ocean. 

Colima volcano is twenty miles north of the city of Manza- 
nillo. These volcanoes will form a beautiful picture as seen from 
the ship and should not be missed. They each have well-rounded, 
symmetrical forms, and at certain points along the coast stand 
alone as in a frame. 



The Pacific Coast. 



39 



The thin smoke line of the active volcano gives no idea of 
its dangerous character, for as late as 1912 it destroyed several 
towns and much life and property. 

Safa volcano usually has snow on its summit. 

After leaving Apaculco and having passed the volcanoes of 
Colima and Safa, Manzanillo is the next port of consequence. 




Colima and Safa Volcanoes. 
(From a sketch made on the scene.) 



Manzanillo. 

Manzanillo is the port of the Mexican state of Colima and 
has railroad connection with the City of Mexico. The sound of 
the engine-whistle and bell is quite pleasant after the days of 
isolation, and one begins to feel the approach of civilization. 
The opening to the left through the hills was made for the rail- 
road, while the opening to the right leads to a long slough, along 
which is the old town of Manzanillo. If time will allow, a visit 
to the old town will repay. 

In all of these Mexican towns, tortoise shell ornaments and 
drawn linen lace-work are special attractions to the ladies, and 
if one is interested in such, she can here satisfy her desires at 
a ridiculously small expense, especially if her native ability in 
bargaining accompanies her. 

Mazatlan. 

Mazatlan is an open port and no place for a vessel in heavy 
weather. The ship anchors two or three miles from the city, 
surrounded by islands, rocks and wrecks. 

The trip to town should be taken because of its interest and 
because of the six days at sea that stand between Mazatlan and 
San Francisco. A modern power boat will quickly land you at 
the wharf after an interesting ride. 



40 



Panama — Part III. 



Mazatlan is the second seaport in importance in Mexico. 
It has the appearance of an Oriental city, with its sea wall, 
palms, and church towers. 

It has railroad and telegraph connection with the world ; 
telephone system, electric lights and a street railway. It has 
large business houses, a market house and a cathedral. Drawn- 
work and tortoise shell ornaments may be purchased. 

Whenever there is an earthquake or revolution in Mexico, 
Mazatlan is always heard from. 

CORDONAZOS. 

Los Cordonazos de San Francisco are hurricanes occurring 
occasionally in the Gulf of California. They are short of dura- 
tion and of tremendous force. 

Lower California. 

The peninsula of Lower California extends from 22° north 
latitude to 32° north latitude, forming the Gulf of California 
on its east. 

It contains Magdalena Bay on the west coast — a safe harbor 
so large that the fleets of the world could ride in safety. [See 
page 142.] 

Its geographical location gives it a value to which it would 
never be entitled by its resources. 

The peninsula commands the gulf, the adjacent shores of 
Mexico and the mouth of the Colorado River. 

It is a land of no charms, and has little arable land. It 
consists of bare rocks, ravines and hills. There are few streams 
and no rains. 

Its interior is nearly blank on maps and less is known of 
its geology and geography than any other region of equal area 
in North America. 




Oaxoca Mountain Range. 
(From a sketch made on the scene.) 



The Pacific Coast. \± 



Gulf of California. 



A near approach to this almost unknown body of water so 
far as the general traveler is concerned, would not be appreciated 
if some of its special characteristics were not i^entioned The 
gulf is from 100 to 200 miles wide and extends from 23 to dZ JN. 

latitude or through a distance of 9°. 

Its west shore is rocky and mountainous and the waters are 
deep, the depth at its mouth being about two miles. 

It has local hurricanes, and the two seasons— wet and dr> — 
but little water falls during the wet season. , 

The waters abound in fish of nearly every species of the 
world, in greater numbers and larger size than anywhere else m 
the world. They are of great beauty and brilliancy of colors. 
Swordfish of unusual size are found, and have been known to 
atUck boats and leave their swords in the hull. Sharks of many 
species abound in the bays and harbors, and some have been cap- 
tured that weighed to exceed 1,000 pounds. They are very 

ferocious. , . ., j. t4- 4o « 

A fish called bull's-eye is found m these waters It is a 

species of sun-fish, and has but one eye— the size of a bull s— set 

in the center of the upper part of the body. ^ , . 4. 

A species of ray, the Manta raya, an immense fish of great 
strength and ferocity, is also found here. Records tell of one 
being captured that was 17 feet wide, 11 feet long and 3 feet 
through It has a large and formidable mouth, extending almost 
the width of the animal, and sports a tail which is armed with a 
spine. The octopus (8-armed) devil-fish, or cuttle-fish, is found 
in these waters. It is a gigantic mollusk that hides along the 
rocky shores watching for its prey. Its long, prehensile arms 
are furnished with suckers with which it seizes and ent olds its 
prey. Its head contains a sharp bill with which it is able to dissect 
and devour its prey. Its arms are from 10 to 20 feet m length. _ 

On shore the rattlesnake is the chief characteristic. It is 
found everywhere and in great numbers. It seems to be one ot 
the great laws of nature to preserve the general equilibrium m 
life Therefore, there never is an influx of unusual conditions 
without nature producing its buffer ; so with the snake question. 
The unusual number of poisonous snakes do not appear without 
also the antidote for their poison being at hand. 

A small vine with pink and white flowers, called gollmgrma, 
grows everywhere. A tea made from it and taken internally, and 
a poultice from it applied to the wound, are said to effect a sure 

cure. 

A species of the cactus (pitahays) is also considered able to 
effect a cure for rattlesnake bites. 

It is said tarantulas and scorpions do not exist in Lower Cali- 
fornia. 



42 



Panama — Part III. 



Magdalena Bay. 

Magdalena Bay is situated on the west coast of Lower Cali- 
fornia, just south of Cape San Lazaro. The oblong island of 
Santa Margarita lies partly in front of the bay. 

It is a magnificent bay of vast extent. The climate is salu- 
brious, the water placid. Its coast is sterile and fresh water is 
scarce. It is sheltered from high winds by lofty mountains. 

It formerly was a rendezvous for smugglers. 

It is a harbor of safety for large fleets. The United States 
has used it for fleet target practice. 

There have been rumors of foreign nations desiring its 
acquisition for a coaling station. 

Magdalena Bay is seventeen miles long and twelve miles 
wide, over an area of 100 square miles that exceeds five fathoms 
in depth. It connects by a channel a mile wide with Almejas 
Bay, a large bay lying to the south, and with a series of 
lagoons, extending sixty miles toward the north. The entrance 
to Magdalena Bay is three and one-half miles wide and the chan- 
nel is two and a half miles wide, with no hidden dangers. 

San Clement Island. 

San Clement is an island south of Catalina Island, off the 
California coast, opposite Los Angeles. It is barren and without 
inhabitants except shepherds in charge of sheep herds. It has 
always been especially attractive to students of antiquity and 
anthropology because of the fragments of remains indicating 
its ancient occupancy by the human race. 




Lunar Rainbow at Sea. 
(From a sketch made on the scene.) 



Conclusion. 1 43 



AFT-WORD 

Whether the reader has taken the tour outlined between 
the covers of this book or has used it as a text-book and not 
read it from the viewpoint of a tourist, if he has digested its 
contents carefully and understandingly, he will have a much 
better and more connected idea of the general conditions geo- 
graphically, financially, etc., of the countries lying between North 
and South America and of their relation to each other and to 
the world at large than before he opened the book. 

Great and important questions of government and of busi- 
ness will come before the proper authorities for settlement in 
the next decade. Knowledge of distance, relative locations, new 
routes of trade, the wants of new markets, the laws of demand 
and supply — all call for a broad-minded understanding of cause 
and effect. 

The high-grade business man will study local conditions and 
will try to fulfil their necessities, thereby increasing his busi- 
ness. He will also attempt to satisfy the buyer. Local condi- 
tions make peculiar shipping necessities. Traffic through the 
surf to the shore and then inland by mule-back or man's back 
has influence on the size of the package and its durability of 
construction. European shippers appreciate these laws of trade, 
and attempt to satisfy the local necessities. American shippers 
will benefit by a study of the same conditions. 

The business in tropical countries is done in a dignified man- 
ner — no haste and plenty of courtesy. The American shipper 
tries to rush the customer as has been his custom to rush through 
the business day at home. Here again the European business 
man understands trade conditions better, and has succeeded 
where all national advantages are in favor of the American mer- 
chant or manufacturer. 

No people have greater advantages of location, machinery, 
or general ability than the American ; yet they fail by seemingly 
not being able to sense the advantageous way of approaching 
the customer, or of packing their goods in a proper way for 
forwarding. 

Their prevailing sense of superiority is also strongly against 
their success in dealing with their Southern neighbors. 

Reading and travel are the great educators. If you have 
read this book understandingly and have traveled the route 
outlined in it, it is the hope of the author that your mind has 
developed and your ideas advanced to the mutual advantage of 
yourself and of your Southern neighbor. If you have read the 
book, but stayed at home, it is hoped you feel your time and the 
expense of the book have not been misspent. 



SEP 30 1912 
144 Panama— Part III. C:^ 

If any proper questions concerning the Canal, the Zone and 
the republic of Panama, as well as the coast line leading from 
Panama City to San Francisco, have not been answered within 
the covers of this book, the author will consider it a personal 
favor to him if they are sent to him ; and he will agree to answer 
them, if competent to do so, and if not competent, he will agree 
to study the subject and find and forward the proper answer. 

He has had great pleasure in compiling the contents of this 
book, and if some proportion of this pleasure should descend to 
the reader, he will feel well repaid for his efforts. 

THE AUTHOR. 



FINIS. 



LEJa'13 



